Every child has their moment of mischief and when caught, parents would often resort to spanking or taking their favourite toys away to discipline them.
A 38-year-old father in Singapore caused the death of his young son after he forced the child to consume the tip of a chili as a way to punish him for lying.
4yo SG boy dies after dad forced him to eat chili
According to CNA, the man, his wife, and four kids were at their apartment August 2, 2022, when he caught the scent of faeces wafting off from his 4-year-old son.
When the man questioned his son about whether he had defecated in his pants, the child lied and said no.
Angry at his son for lying to him, the man decided to teach him a lesson by making him eat the tip of a chili while lying on the floor. Although the child tried to resist, the man managed to force the chili right into his mouth and past his teeth.
After the chili was forced into his mouth, the boy began running around while pointing to his throat before collapsing.
The man’s wife attempted to save the child by performing the Heimlich manoeuvre but to no avail. The boy was then rushed to a nearby family clinic where doctors tried reviving him with CPR but was later pronounced dead at the Sengkang General Hospital at around 3.10pm.
An autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was “acute airway obstruction by foreign body”, where the chili was stuck in the boy’s airway.
Jailed for 8 months
In mitigation, the prosecution sought for a jail sentence of nine to 12 months, while Public Defender’s Office lawyer Taufiq Suraidi asked for seven months, saying that the man wasn’t “an abusive father”.
He also argued that the man had taken measures to ensure that the whole chili wasn’t forced into his son’s mouth and stopped once it passed right his teeth.
All this shows that his sole intention in disciplining his son was only to teach him that lying is not a behaviour that should be carried out.”
Taufir added that ever since the tragedy, the man has been filled with “immense guilt and remorse” and even thought of ending his life.
The man was ultimately sentenced to eight months in jail for one count of a rash act causing death.
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