S'pore welfare home officer, 43, elbowed & kicked boy, 10, in prayer hall, fined S$8,000

A 43-year-old Singaporean man working at a welfare home has been fined S$8,000 for ill-treating a 10-year-old boy.

The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim, pleaded guilty to a charge of ill-treating a child under his care, reported CNA.

On the day of the incident, he had scolded the victim for his behaviour after he was caught climbing a parapet.

According to charge sheets seen by Mothership, the man had used his elbow to hit the victim’s face, used his leg to kick the victim’s leg out from under him, and also pushed down against the victim’s chest.

This had caused the victim to fall backwards onto the floor on his back and buttocks.

Victim scolded for climbing parapet

As a welfare officer at the home since 2018, the man was tasked with supervising the residents.

He was also a practitioner of silat, a form of martial arts, according to CNA.

The victim, who had resided at the home for about half a year, was spotted by a woman climbing a parapet on the second floor on Aug. 11, 2025.

She complained to the man about the act, and he later scolded the victim at the prayer hall on the first floor.

About 16 other residents were reportedly in the hall waiting for prayers to begin.

Elbowed and hit victim

The man believed that the boy was smirking at him and smiling, according to CNA.

He then used Hokkien vulgarities on the boy and told him that he could spit saliva at him.

He added that the "camera" was not working, implying that he could hit the boy without being caught, CNA reported.

The man then elbowed, kicked, and struck the victim on his face and chest.

When other residents heard and turned to look, the man instructed the boy to join the rest for prayer.

The incident was caught on closed-circuit television cameras.

Fined

The victim sought medical treatment for tenderness and was discharged the same day.

The doctor subsequently filed a police report.

The prosecution reportedly sought a “high fine” of S$6,000 to S$8,000, noting that the victim was a vulnerable young person entrusted to the officer’s care.

The defence sought a lower fine, arguing that the man had been “a good officer” at the home for many years and that this was a one-off incident, CNA reported.

According to the defence, the man remains employed at the home but is no longer in direct contact with residents.

The judge noted that the aggravating factors in the case were clear, including the man’s abuse of his position of authority, betrayal of his role and premeditation, according to CNA.

However, he acknowledged that the home continued to value the man’s services and that there was no evidence of a history of abuse.

The judge stressed that the fine imposed was the maximum possible and warned that the man would likely face a jail term if he reoffended.

For ill-treating a child under his care, he could have been jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000, or both.