Singapore jails father who chained son in toilet for lying, not doing homework

On multiple occasions, a man chained his son, aged 10 or 11, to a rod in the toilet for up to five hours as punishment for telling lies or not doing his homework.

On at least one occasion, he repeatedly hit the boy with a rubber hosepipe because the boy had angered him by texting his wife, from whom the man had divorced.

On Friday, the 53-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to two years’ jail after pleading guilty to three counts of ill-treating a child under his care.

A charge of criminal intimidation was taken into consideration during the sentencing.

The parties involved cannot be named under a court order to protect the victim’s identity.

The court heard that at the time of the offences, the man had custody of his biological son after a divorce with his wife.

On November 30, 2022, the man learnt that his son, had been texting his mother despite being told to cut off contact.

He became angry and slapped the boy on the left side of his face, causing injury and pain in the victim’s left ear.

The man then used a yellow rubber hosepipe to hit the victim on his upper left arm, back and left thigh, causing multiple bruises.

The boy was taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for treatment for his injuries.

The offender also admitted that he had hit the victim on previous occasions, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jocelyn Teo.

Investigations also revealed that at least three times in 2022, the man secured the boy’s ankle or wrist to a fixed metal bar in the toilet, using a metal chain and padlock.

He would put a rubber hosepipe between the metal chain and the victim’s skin to protect him from injury if he struggled, and put some food and water in the toilet, leaving the victim there for two to five hours.

The man would either