A Singaporean father was sentenced to eight months in jail over the death of his four-year-old son.
The 38-year-old man force-fed his son the tip of a chilli as a form of discipline after the child, who was on potty training, lied about defecating.
An autopsy report revealed that the kid died of an acute airway obstruction by a foreign object, and the tip of the chilli was found blocking his air passage.
The father pleaded guilty to causing his son's death by performing a rash act and was sentenced to eight months' jail.
What Happened?
The father-of-four was at home in his Sengkang flat on Aug 2, 2022, when he noticed that the victim smelt 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 father questioned the boy, the boy denied defecating. The father then decided to discipline him by making him eat a bite of chilli while the boy was lying on the floor. The boy refused to eat the chilli but the father forced the tip of the chilli to the boy’s mouth, past his teeth.
After that, the child started running around while gesturing at his throat and collapsed soon after.
They rushed him to a nearby clinic, but by then, he was not breathing and had no pulse. A doctor performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the boy could not be saved. He was pronounced dead.