A 33-year-old single mother admitted on Jun. 24 to splashing hot water on her four children, aged eight to 11, after suspecting that one of them stole her money.

She cried after discovering that her children were scalded and sustained burns from the incident.

The mother pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating a child in her care, CNA reported.

Three other charges related to her other children will be considered in sentencing.

Gag orders have been placed on those involved to protect the identities of the children.

Money was missing on the morning of Jul. 2, 2022

On the morning of Jul. 2, 2022, the mother requested her eldest daughter to get S$20 from her wallet to buy breakfast.

The daughter then informed her mother that there was only S$5, which surprised the woman as she recalled having S$60 in her wallet when she checked the night before.

Suspecting one of her children may have taken the money as it had happened before, the mother instructed her children to look for the money.

As the children began searching, the mother watched and threatened to splash hot water on them if they could not find the money.

She went into the kitchen and filled three-quarters of a tumbler with boiled water.

She entered the bedroom where her children were searching and proceeded to splash hot water in the direction of her children.

She again asked them to return the money.

Her children continued denying that they took it, and the mother then repeatedly splashed hot water in the direction of her children.

"She repeated this process twice more for a total of four splashes, one for each child," said the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP).

The children cried, ran around the bedroom and apologised.

The mother instructed them to continue searching until they had to prepare for school, which was when she noticed burns on her nine-year-old boy's body.

She checked and realised her daughters had sustained similar injuries.

She cried and applied medicated oil on her children.

The mother phoned her elder sister to come to the unit and an ambulance was called.

Second eldest daughter sustained scar on her inner left arm from incident

The woman's second child, a 10-year-old girl, sustained burns on her left arm, both thighs, as well as part of her abdomen, as detailed in the court document.

The last review, dated Oct. 3, 2022, said her wounds had healed well with a soft scar of about 2cm by 1cm on her inner left arm.

There was likely to be permanent scarring from the burn injuries.

Injuries sustained by the other children were not included in the court document.

Probation suitability to be assessed

The defence requested for a probation suitability report, CNA reported.

The DPP did not object to this, acknowledging the mother has taken efforts to change her situation and that any sentence will also have an impact on the family unit.

The defence lawyer, from the Public Defender's Office, also highlighted the difficulties the mother had to overcome as she single-handedly raised four children, which included a poor family background, an abusive ex-husband, and a persistent depressive disorder.

A waitress with a PSLE education, she worked hard and sought help from social agencies to upskill herself and take care of her children.

The mother has also suffered intense guilt and a low mood since the incident, which was the first time such a thing happened, said the lawyer.

She has also since been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

Relevant social agencies are working towards reunifying the mother with her children, said the lawyer.

The lawyer added the children love their mother and wish to be reunited.

The four children are currently separated from their mother and placed in three separate homes, said the lawyer, pushing for probation as it is in the children's best interests.

If the woman is sentenced to probation, the lawyer said the Child Protective Service has indicated that it would "move towards reintegration".

The judge called for a report to assess the woman's suitability for probation, though he said he was not bound to follow the recommendations in sentencing.

The judge told the mother that she should continue her efforts to keep trying to improve and look after her children properly.

The sentencing for the mother was adjourned to August.

Top image via Canva.