Man used phone to hit girlfriend's son, 3, for crying

He repeatedly bashed the boy's forehead and hit the mother when she tried to stop him

- Andrew Wong

Irritated by the crying of his then girlfriend’s child after he had moved in with them, a man used his mobile phone to repeatedly bash the three-year-old boy’s forehead.

When the mother tried to stop him, he hit her, before continuing to hit the boy with his device.

He stopped the mother from taking her son to the doctor when the child’s head started swelling, only relenting a few days later, when the boy’s condition worsened.

On July 19, the 33-year-old man pleaded guilty to five charges of voluntarily causing hurt. Four similar charges, including one for criminal intimidation, will be taken into consideration for his sentencing in August.

He is not being named to protect the identity of the victims.

The man, who was late and kept the court waiting, had initially told court officers he did not want his bailor present during the hearing. When the proceedings started, he repeatedly waved off his bailor, his current girlfriend.

Asked by District Judge Christopher Goh Eng Chiang why he did not want her present, the man said it was her choice. “We have been in a relationship for a year. I told her I had this ex-girlfriend and that I beat up her kid. My girlfriend told me she understood why I did it and that she doesn’t want to be a part of this hearing,” he said.

When the judge asked if he did not want her to be there, the man finally admitted he did not want her to listen to the “hassle”.