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A 52-year-old woman died after suffering from a head injury during an altercation involving her two sons in August 2019.
Her sons were aged 17 and 21 at the time of the incident.
According to The Straits Times (ST) and CNA, her elder son was suffering from major depression and was serving his National Service at the time.
The younger son is autistic and the woman was his main caretaker.
The altercation
It was revealed during a coroner's inquiry that the mother and elder son got into a fight after the latter suspected her of having an affair.
The son noticed that his mother had been sleeping in the living room of their three-room flat and often talked softly over the phone.
ST reported that a fight ensued two months later after the son pressured his mother to let him see her phone on Aug. 16, 2019. He had eavesdropped over her conversation prior to the altercation.
According to a police investigation officer, the elder son grabbed her phone and tossed it on the ground.
He also slapped and punched his mother in her face after she picked the phone up.
The mother bit the elder son's arm to stop him from snatching her phone.
During their struggle, the elder son pushed the mother and she hit her head against a wall at home.
Second head injury
The younger son witnessed the ruckus when he entered the living room and hit the elder son on his shoulder.
The mother approached her sons at this point and the younger son pushed her, leading to her head hitting the wall for the second time.
This time, their mother collapsed, vomited and had seizures.
The elder son called for an ambulance and contacted a friend who later helped to take care of the young son. Their father had left home for work earlier that morning at around 4:30am.
When paramedics arrived at the scene at about 6:25am, the mother was unresponsive, lying on her back in the living room.
She was sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and subsequently pronounced dead at the hospital eight days later.
The elder son admitted to the paramedics what he had done, and he was subsequently arrested by the police that afternoon for a rash act causing grievous hurt.
Elder son given 24 months' conditional warning
The two sons were sent to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric evaluation as part of the investigation.
The elder son was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and the psychiatrists identified symptoms which began about two months prior to the incident.
The judge considered his illness as a "contributory factor to the offence", leading to what he had done to his mother.
The elder son was therefore sentenced to 24 months' conditional warning.
The younger son was diagnosed with autism before he turned five years old, CNA reported.
He could only give out his name during the IMH evaluation, and the psychiatrists decided that he was unfit to plead in court due to his disability. No legal action was taken against him.
The autopsy report concluded that the mother's cause of death was head injury.
However, the police was unable to conclude, between the two sons, who is directly responsible for her death.
The younger son has been staying in a home since November 2019 after he turned 18, CNA reported.
He is occasionally visited by his father and his maternal uncle every week.
Helplines
If you know of anyone who may need a listening ear, here are some useful hotlines:
Caregivers' Association of the Mentally Ill (CAMI)
6782 9371 (24-hour helpline)
Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH)
1800 283 7019 (Mon to Fri: 9.00am - 6.00pm)
Singapore Silver Line
1800 650 6060 (Mon to Fri: 8.30am - 8.30pm; Sat: 8.30am - 4.00pm)
Club Heal (ideal for Malay language speakers)
6899 3463 (Mon to Fri: 9.00am - 5.00pm)
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Top image by Matthias Ang