SINGAPORE — A 31-year-old Singaporean man has been sentenced to nine years and 10 months in prison and eight strokes of the cane after brutally abusing three young boys who had been placed under his care.
The sentence, handed down on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, follows a case that prosecutors described as involving prolonged and severe physical abuse. The youngest victim, a six-year-old boy, was subjected to an approximately 18-hour ordeal that left him with multiple serious injuries and hospitalised for 46 days.
The man cannot be named because of a gag order protecting the identities of the victims.
The man was supposed to care for the children
According to court proceedings reported by CNA and additional details published by Mothership and AsiaOne, the man worked as a manager at an educational facility owned by his aunt.
The facility provided accommodation for foreign students and workers. His duties included managing the accommodation, supervising primary-school students and teaching them mathematics and English.
However, he had no formal teaching or childcare qualifications, according to court documents reported by Mothership.
Three boys from China — aged 11, 10 and six — were abused by him.
The older boys were punched, slapped, struck with a clothes hanger and forced to hold a push-up position as punishment.
In one incident, a 10-year-old boy was repeatedly punched in the face after failing to answer questions while doing his homework. The following day, teachers noticed a bruise on his cheek, prompting a school counsellor to make a police report.
The youngest victim endured the most severe abuse
The six-year-old moved into the accommodation in January 2023.
According to prosecutors, the man subjected him to repeated punishment, including forcing him to hold a push-up position, making him sleep in a toilet and giving him bread and water instead of proper meals.
The abuse escalated dramatically on March 9 and 10, 2023.
At about 3.45pm on March 9, the boy was ordered to hold a push-up position while studying English. When he complained that he was hungry, he was not allowed to eat while the other students had dinner.
He remained in the position for hours.
During the night, the abuse continued. Prosecutors said the man punched and stomped on the boy and repeatedly struck him with a clothes hanger.
At one point, a chair was placed on the child while he was still being forced to maintain the position.
The boy was also made to urinate in a basin and drink his own urine when he became thirsty, according to court evidence reported by Mothership.
More than 600 strikes
The assault ultimately lasted about 18 hours.
CNA reported that the man struck the six-year-old with a hanger at least 620 times, stomped on him at least 45 times and kicked him in the ribs at least once.
The child’s condition became critical.
When the man’s aunt arrived at the accommodation, she saw the boy’s condition and ordered him to stop. But the abuse continued until she physically removed the child from the man.
The aunt initially wanted to take the boy to hospital immediately. The man discouraged her, telling her he was frightened and worried about being arrested.
Days later, the aunt contacted the boy’s parents. She brought him to hospital after he developed breathing difficulties and a severe cough.
He was immediately taken to the resuscitation room before being transferred to the children’s intensive care unit.
He remained in the ICU for 15 days and was eventually hospitalised for 46 days.
The injuries were severe
The six-year-old suffered multiple rib fractures, blunt-force lung injuries and kidney failure.
His kidney failure was severe enough to require nine days of dialysis, while the resulting hypertension caused further medical complications.
He also developed rhabdomyolysis, a condition involving the breakdown of muscle tissue.
The court heard that the injuries were consistent with the prolonged physical assault.
CCTV captured much of the abuse
A particularly disturbing element of the case was the existence of CCTV footage.
Prosecutors said much of the man’s conduct had been recorded, with Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh telling the court during the earlier proceedings that the videos showed the extent of the cruelty.
The footage became important evidence in establishing what happened to the children.
The man pleaded guilty in July to offences including voluntarily causing grievous hurt, child abuse and providing false or misleading information in connection with a foreign domestic worker application.
Judge rejects explanation that past abuse justified his actions
During sentencing, District Judge John Ng acknowledged that the man’s mitigation submissions referred to alleged physical abuse he had experienced during his own childhood.
But the judge made clear that such a background could not excuse the abuse inflicted on children under his responsibility.
The judge said someone who had allegedly suffered abuse himself should have been in a better position to understand the vulnerability of children placed in his care.
He described the ill-treatment of vulnerable young victims as something the community could not tolerate.
The prosecution had sought between nine years and six weeks and 10 years and eight weeks’ imprisonment, together with six strokes of the cane.
The defence had sought a shorter prison term of seven years and two weeks.
The court ultimately imposed nine years and 10 months’ imprisonment and eight strokes of the cane.
The case comes amid renewed scrutiny of child protection in Singapore
The sentencing comes as Singapore continues to strengthen its child-protection framework following other high-profile child-abuse cases.
In May 2026, the Ministry of Social and Family Development introduced a new arrangement under which designated Child Protection Case Management agencies would handle child-protection cases, following recommendations arising from the review of the death of four-year-old Megan Khung.
The Straits Times reported that about 80 designated agencies began handling such cases from May 1, alongside a new Triage Assessment Panel intended to resolve disagreements between agencies and improve coordination.
Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development also states that suspected child abuse can be reported through the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline, while immediate danger should be reported to the police.
The latest case therefore raises a broader question beyond the punishment handed down in court: how can children living away from their parents be better protected when the adults responsible for their accommodation and supervision hold significant power over them?
For the six-year-old at the centre of this case, the answer came only after an ordeal lasting roughly 18 hours and injuries serious enough to keep him in hospital for more than six weeks.
And behind the prison sentence is a case that has once again put the safety of vulnerable children — particularly those living under the supervision of adults outside their immediate families — firmly under the spotlight.
Leave a Reply