A 48-year-old man in Singapore was sentenced to two months and six weeks’ jail on Apr. 11, 2024, for hitting his 12-year-old son with an empty cooking pot and threatening to kill him with a metal baseball bat.

He was angry when his son did not come home with his estranged wife, according to court documents.

The man, whose identity was redacted, wanted the three of them to break fast together on Apr. 9, 2023, during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Flung pot and pointed baseball bat at son

Court documents reveal that the man and his wife were living separately.

His son stayed with him on weekdays and stayed with his wife on weekends.

On Apr. 9, 2023, which was a Sunday, the man texted his son to ask him to return home with his wife as he wanted to break fast with them.

However, when his son returned home alone, the man became angry.

In a fit, he flipped over the dining table full of food and scolded the boy before telling him to clean up the mess, hurling vulgarities at the same time.

While the boy was cleaning up, the man hit him with an empty cooking pot.

The man also threw a foldable plastic chair at his son.

As a result, the boy suffered bruises on his left forearm, upper back and chest.

The man also took a baseball bat and pointed it at his son while saying: "I will kill you using this."

Refused to open the door when police came

After the boy cleared the floor, the man asked him to wash the toilet.

When the man went back to his room, the boy took the opportunity to call his mother for help.

The boy repeatedly called his mother, but she did not answer as she thought that it was the man trying to contact her through his phone.

Eventually, he texted his older brother for help instead.

Upon receiving the text, the older brother called the police and claimed it was "not the first time".

When police officers reached, the man refused to open the door but was later arrested after the officers forced their way into the flat.

On Apr. 10, 2023, the boy was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital at around 6am and was discharged the same day.

The man had pleaded guilty to one count each of assault, harassment and criminal intimidation.

The prosecution noted while the harm suffered by the victim is considered low, the victim was a vulnerable minor, and the man had reacted disproportionately after he was upset that he could not break fast together with the victim’s mother.

Top photo via Canva