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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/man-admits-to-abusing-girlfriend-s-one-year-old-child/3095678.html?cid=fbcna SINGAPORE: A 25-year-old man was found guilty on Friday (Sep 2) of three counts of child abuse and one count of causing grievous hurt to his girlfriend’s one-year-old son. Franklie Tan Guang Wei abused the boy over five months, from November 2014 until March 2015, when the semi-conscious baby was rushed to hospital after Tan pushed him off the bed. The boy had sustained a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain. Now three, he is still in hospital undergoing therapy, including speech therapy and physiotherapy. The toddler, now in foster care, and his mother cannot be named due to a gag order. MOTHER LIED TO HIDE ABUSE A District Court heard Tan got together with the boy’s mother, 25, in August 2014. A month later, the baby’s caregivers noticed “a marked change” in his behavior. He had become fearful of males and had nightmares, Assistant Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said. Caregivers Pe Bee Lian, 51, and her daughter Cadence Gee Shi Ting, 26, also began to notice bruises on the boy’s body whenever he spent time with his mother and Tan. When confronted, his mother denied he had been abused and blamed “spirits” for the bruises. Soon after discovering she was pregnant by Tan, the mother took the boy to live with Tan and his mother in their Bukit Batok flat on Nov 7, 2014. The next day, Tan abused the child for the first time. Frustrated by the baby’s cries, he slapped him, leaving marks on his cheek and a bruise near his left ear. When the boy’s mother returned him to caregivers Mdm Pe and Ms Gee a few days later, she lied that the baby’s face was swollen because he had fallen off the bed. The women took the boy to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) on November 19. Though his injuries had healed by then, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) were alerted to allegations that the baby might have been abused. BABY WAS THROWN ACROSS THE ROOM The baby was discharged on November 27 into the care of Mdm Pe, and his mother’s access to him was restricted – she was allowed weekly supervised visits at MSF. This was revoked in January 2015, when the baby was found with scratches on his thighs after his mother and Tan had spent time with him, APP Kok said. About a month later, the mother entered into a Voluntary Care Agreement (VCA) with Tan’s parents, giving them care of her child and supervised access for her and Tan. However, Tan’s father breached the VCA by leaving the baby alone with his mother and Tan on March 8, 2015. The same day, frustrated by the boy’s cries, Tan lifted the baby up roughly and threw him 2 metres across the room. A week later, when Tan’s parents claimed they could not fully care for the boy, the VCA was amended to allow his mother and Tan to bring himto their flat at night. However, Tan was not allowed unsupervised contact with the baby at all times. BABY WAS “FORCEFULLY PUSHED” OFF THE BED On Mar 25, Tan abused the boy again – the worst instance of abuse which would later land the baby in hospital. The boy’s mother woke up early that day to get ready for work, leaving Tan alone with the child. When the baby began to cry, Tan pounded him twice on his buttock, APP Kok told the court. An hour later, after he had been fed, the boy began to vomit. Despite this, his mother left for work and left Tan to look after the sick child. This was in breach of the new VCA, which expressly forbade Tan unsupervised contact with the baby. When the baby continued to vomit, Tan became frustrated and “forcefully pushed” him off the bed, APP Kok told the court. Tan said the boy “flew off the bed and landed face up about 2 metres away”. He picked the child up and took him to have a shower. Soon after, he realised the baby was “in a daze and appeared to be semi-conscious”. Tan called the boy’s mother, who returned home to find her child weak and pale. The couple rushed him to KKH. The baby was found to have suffered a skull fracture, and underwent emergency surgery to ease the swelling in his brain. Further examination revealed a host of other injuries, including wrist and collarbone fractures and bruises on the body, including on his eyelids. The baby had also suffered a superficial burn on his back. In court on Friday, Tan admitted he had not checked the temperature of the baby’s bathwater when he gave him a shower on March 25. MOTHER ACCUSED OF ALLOWING ABUSE The boy’s mother has also been charged for child abuse, for allowing her child to stay with Tan, knowing her boyfriend abused her baby. Her trial is scheduled for later this month. A psychiatric report for Tan is pending. He is expected to be sentenced on Sep 19. For child abuse, Tan faces up to four years’ jail and/or a fine of up to S$4,000 per charge. For causing grievous hurt, he could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned. - CNA/nc This evil man deserved a maximum punishment. The way he abused the baby is worst than animal. He should be punished severely , Slap him with max years of imprisonment and give him maximum strokes of rotan. The abuse took place in 2014, and the child still in hospital undergoing therapy, including speech therapy and physiotherapy. The mother is no better for allowing the continuous abuse to be inflicted on a defenceless child. She is the cause of the harm. She knew and lied to cover her lover wrong doing . She is not fit to be a mother.