When a young boy in Singapore failed to hold his place in a handstand, he ended up suffering at the end of a belt wielded by his own mother.

The 32-year-old Singaporean woman had been angered by something her son did, which resulted in her asking him to repent by doing a handstand.

The woman and the boy cannot be named due to a gag order.

Punishment for "misbehaviour"

According to court documents, the abuse took place at about 12pm on May 11, 2020.

The then six-year-old boy had been staying with his mother, who had custody of him.

The place also housed the woman's then-boyfriend and the boy's siblings, half-siblings, and step-siblings.

On the day of the incident, the woman was in her bedroom with several of her children, including the victim.

Some "misbehaviour" prompted the woman to make her son stay in a handstand position, a task which the young boy failed to complete.

The mother, who up till this point had been holding a rotan cane, swapped it for a belt.

Over 100 strikes

The next few moments saw the victim taking blows from his mother, who struck him all over his body and face with the belt more than 100 times, using both the strap and the buckle.

She also kicked and slapped him, ignoring his pleas for her to stop.

The beating was captured on the house's CCTV camera.

According to CNA, when the footage was played in court, the public and media were told to leave. But the boy's distressed cries remained loud enough to be heard from outside.

The judge was also heard to have called the footage "hard to watch".

Tried to frame boyfriend

The day after beating her son, the woman brought him to the Nanyang Neighbourhood Police Centre to lodge a report.

Instead of confessing her actions, however, she threw her then-boyfriend under the bus and accused him of beating her kid.

On May 13, the boy was examined by a doctor at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

More than 50 bruises and abrasions marred his body.

Allowed access to son under supervision

Although the judge deemed excessive violence and force intolerable even under the guise of discipline, she maintained that the abuse was an isolated incident that did not result in permanent injuries, reported CNA.

The judge also found the woman, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to ill-treating a child in her care, to be regretful of her actions.

As such, the woman was slapped with 13 months' jail.

Medical examinations conducted from 2022 to 2023 further revealed the woman to be suffering from an adjustment disorder with depressed mood, though the doctor dismissed any links between her mental condition and her offence.

CNA said that the mother is working to patch things up with her son.

She is currently allowed to see him under the supervision of a child protection officer.

Top image via Chinh Le Duc/Unsplash