Can you imagine being a parent and hurting your own child so badly that they eventually die? I honestly can't wrap my head around it. And what makes me even more angry is that these are not stories about strangers. These are stories about children being hurt by the very adults who were supposed to protect them. In the past few days, two heartbreaking child-abuse cases in Singapore have come back into the news. Two children. Two families. And neither child survived.
The first case involves a baby named Trevor. On October 21, the High Court sentenced his father to 16 years in jail and his mother to 15 years and three months for abusing him. According to the prosecution, Trevor had been abused almost from the time he was born. When he cried, he was shaken and had his nose and mouth covered until he stopped crying or even became unconscious. His father would also pinch his fingers repeatedly, sometimes 20 to 30 times, because he found the baby's reaction funny (Source: Channel News Asia).
There were already signs that something was wrong. Trevor's nanny was so concerned that she insisted on taking him to a doctor, where medical staff found injuries in his mouth. His grandmother had also noticed bruises and raised concerns (Source: Asia News Network). Yet somehow, the abuse continued.
Then, on September 1, 2024, Trevor was crying in bed. His mother covered his face with a blanket and repeatedly pressed down on it. His father was in the same room, playing a mobile game. Only after finishing the game did he check on his son. Trevor was no longer breathing. How can anything on a phone be more important than checking whether your own child is okay?
Then there is Megan Khung, a four-year-old girl whose case has returned to the news because a third offender recently pleaded guilty. Megan was abused repeatedly while living with her mother and her mother's boyfriend. She was slapped, caned, forced to wear a dirty diaper over her head, made to eat things from a rubbish bin, and even had her head shaved. Her mother's boyfriend also smeared lipstick on her face and paraded her downstairs as punishment (Source: Channel News Asia).
In February 2020, the boyfriend punched Megan in the stomach. She collapsed, but instead of calling for help, the adults went off to take drugs. Her mother was afraid that calling an ambulance would expose the abuse. By the time they dealt with her, Megan had died. Her body was later burned in a metal drum.
Her mother was sentenced to 19 years in jail, while her mother's boyfriend received 30 years and 17 strokes of the cane. The mother's friend, who recently pleaded guilty, had also filmed some of the abuse and was found by the prosecution to be more than just a bystander. She is now awaiting sentencing (Source: Channel News Asia).
And again, there were warning signs.
Megan's preschool teacher noticed injuries on her body and warned that the authorities would be contacted if it happened again (Source: Mothership). What happened? Megan was pulled out of school.
These children were not completely invisible. People noticed things. People had concerns. There were warning signs. But somehow, they still ended up dead.
If you don't want children, don't have them. If you are struggling, ask for help. If you know you cannot handle being a parent, there are ways to prevent pregnancy. There are choices.
But the child has no choice.
A baby cannot walk away from an abusive parent. A four-year-old cannot pack a bag and find somewhere safe to live. They depend on adults for everything.
I don't care how stressed, tired or frustrated you are. Parenting can be difficult, but a child should never become the target of an adult's anger. Trevor and Megan didn't need perfect parents. They just needed someone to protect them.
Children don't choose to be born. Adults choose to bring them into this world. The least they deserve is to feel safe in it.
Felicia Yoan (feliciayoan11@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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