A woman who was arrested for her attempt to kill her newborn son has been sentenced to one-and-a-half years' jail on Aug. 18.
Baby boy discovered in rubbish chute at Bedok HDB in January
The 27-year-old Singaporean whose name cannot be revealed due to a gag order in place, threw her baby boy down the rubbish chute from third floor unit of a HDB block in Bedok North on Jan 7 early morning.
The baby boy was then discovered by the town council cleaners who were clearing the trash at around 8:30am on Jan 7.
The cleaners heard a soft cry when they pulled out the rubbish bin from the chute that morning.
The baby was placed in a tied up plastic bag and there was blood on the bag. They then alerted their supervisor who called the police.
"Shocked" to give birth and wanted to get rid of the baby quickly
According to courts document, the suspect, who is the mother of the newborn, and her brother were the only ones at home that morning.
She felt some discomfort in her abdomen at around 6am and went to the toilet where she delivered the baby.
She claimed to be "shocked" after the delivery. She had missed her menstrual cycle for many months and did wonder if she's pregnant but "chose not to dwell on it further".
After delivering the baby, she then took a white plastic bag, placed her baby into it and tied the bag up.
The baby moved inside the plastic bag, which made her want to get rid of him quickly, the courts document said.
She then decided to throw the baby in the bag down the rubbish chute from the third floor unit where she lived.
After doing so, she cleaned up the bloodstains in the house, took a shower and slept.
She did not tell anyone what she had done subsequently but told her friend that she had a miscarriage.
When the police knocked on her door to investigate the case on Jan 8, she also denied knowing anything.
Later the police asked her to report to the police station for an interview and DNA testing on Feb 14.
The day before, she confessed to a friend who advised her to surrender herself to the police.
Was not suffering from major mental illness when committing the offence
A doctor from the Institute of Mental Health, Leong Jing Yun, diagnosed that the suspect was suffering from post-partum depression in a report dated March 4.
However, there was no direct link established between her depression and her offence as she only developed depression after her attempt to kill her son.
Leong further clarified on Jun. 8 that the suspect was not suffering from a major mental illness at the time of offence.
Verdict
According to CNA, the pro-bono defence lawyer, Arias Lim, said that at that point in time, the suspect was working as a waitress and a cleaner. Both were part-time roles.
Lim explained that the suspect was "shocked” at that moment she went from being a young unmarried woman to being a mother, CNA reported.
Deputy Public Prosecutor, Yan Jiakang, however, said that the suspect was cognisant enough to put the baby into the plastic bag and cleaning the stains at home afterwards. As such, Yan asked for a jail term of at least two years.
Considering the seriousness of this offence and how the baby boy was put in such a dangerous situation, District Judge Salina Ishak explained that a probation order will be inappropriate.
The woman was sentenced to one-and-a-half years' jail after pleading guilty to one charge of attempted culpable homicide.
Baby boy now with foster parents
The court document wrote that the baby boy is now with the foster parents.
After the incident, he was diagnosed with a fractured clavicle which was opined to be secondary to birth injury.
He did not suffer from other injury, fortunately.
There was no mention of his father in the court document.
Helplines for expectant mothers
Expectant mothers can seek help from these helplines:
Pregnancy Crisis Service: 6339- 9770
Safe Place: 6817-4202
24-hour Mum-To-Be Helpline: 1800-686-8623
For teenagers facing a pregnancy crisis, they can seek help from the BABES 24-hour call or SMS helpline: 8111-3535
Top photos by Rexanne Yap