Man jailed for force-feeding 4-year-old son chilli, resulting in his death

SINGAPORE — A man force-fed his four-year-old son the tip of a chilli after the child soiled himself, and the boy later fell unconscious and died.

An autopsy report revealed that the victim died of an acute airway obstruction by a foreign object, and the tip of the chilli was found blocking his air passage.

On May 30, his 38-year-old father pleaded guilty to causing his son's death by performing a rash act and was sentenced to eight months' jail.

He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim and his young siblings.

The father-of-four was at home in his Sengkang flat on Aug 2, 2022, when he noticed that the victim reeked of faeces.

The boy was undergoing toilet training at the time and was supposed to notify his parents if he needed to relieve himself.

When the child denied soiling himself, the father decided to discipline him by forcing the tip of a chili into the boy's mouth.

After that, the victim started running around while gesturing at his throat. He vomited and collapsed soon after.

The father picked up the child and ran to a nearby clinic, but a doctor there found that the boy had no pulse and was not breathing.

An ambulance later rushed the victim to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Defence lawyer Muhammad Taufiq Suraidi pleaded for his client to be given seven months' jail, stressing that the man is a loving father to his children.

Taufiq added that his client's "remorse and guilt is absolute", and he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder after the tragedy.

The lawyer told the court that the man had also been found to have suicidal ideation.

Before handing down the sentence, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun said that this was a sad case that could be prevented.

The judge also said that such a method of discipline should be discouraged.

For causing a death by performing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined.

SINGAPORE HELPLINES

• Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
• Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222
• Silver Ribbon: 6386-1928

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