Man, 39, gets 3 weeks' jail for slapping boy, 6, at Westgate playground after daughter was kicked

A 39-year-old man was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Oct. 9 for slapping a six-year-old boy at a Westgate indoor playground in Jurong East in December 2024.

The man slapped the boy after he saw the six-year-old kick his daughter.

The man pleaded guilty in August 2025 to one count of voluntarily causing hurt.

Violence against children cannot be condoned: Judge

During the sentencing, District Judge Janet Wang described the assault as unwarranted and unprovoked, according to The Straits Times.

She said that even if the accused was upset by the victim's actions, "this reaction was way in excess of proportion".

Wang also said that violence against young children should never be condoned.

"Each child is precious in the eyes of [their] parents. But true charity lies in showing empathy and forgiveness towards strangers," Wang added.

During an earlier court hearing on Aug. 20, Deputy Public Prosecutor Joelle Loy had urged the court to mete out a sentence of between six and seven weeks' jail.

Loy argued then that while the man was understandably upset by the victim's behaviour, slapping the boy, who was much smaller, was "completely unwarranted and inexcusable," ST reported.

The man's lawyer argued instead that the man had acted on "some sort of reason".

"It wasn't an act of aggression that had no reasoning whatsoever. It was deeply regrettable and a split second reaction of a father who had just witnessed his child fall," the man's layer said.

He asked for a fine instead of jail.

Slapped boy for kicking his daughter

The court also heard previously that the man, his wife and their three daughters visited an indoor playground at Westgate shopping mall on Dec. 22, 2024, ST reported.

The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his daughter's identity, saw the boy kick a wall of styrofoam building blocks while at least one of his daughters was near it.

At least one of the building blocks fell on the floor.

This happened at around 2:30pm.

Shortly after, the man's three-year-old daughter, known as X1 in court documents, walked to the styrofoam wall and stood near it.

The boy ran towards the wall again and kicked it while X1 was behind it.

X1 then fell to the floor.

The boy kicked the wall despite knowing that X1 was behind it as he had thought X1 was the one who destroyed the styrofoam wall he had built earlier, Loy said, according to ST.

The man then approached the boy and forcefully slapped his right cheek once despite there being 25 other adults and children around.

Chided boy's mom

Afterward, the man asked the boy where his parents were.

The boy then led the man to his mother, who was nearby.

The man told the boy's mother what the boy had done, but did not reveal that he had slapped the child.

The boy's mother made him apologise to the man, who chided her for not keeping an eye on the six-year-old.

The man left the playground after that.

The boy's mother later found out about the slap through her friend, who was informed about it by a witness.

She then went to look for the man and asked if he was the one who had slapped her son.

The son confirmed it while in tears, Loy said.

The mother alerted the police and the man was arrested at around 4pm.

For about a week after the incident, the boy was observed to be quieter than usual and had occasional nightmares, ST wrote.

The bruise subsided several days later and his behaviour has since returned to normal.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News