Singapore baby abused for most of his life dies at 8 months; parents plead guilty

A young married couple who habitually abused their baby son for most of his short life before he died at eight months old pleaded guilty on Monday (Oct 12) to charges linked to his death.

The mother, Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, and the father, Neo Jia Ming, 27, will be sentenced on Oct 21.

The High Court heard on Oct 12 that baby Trevor Neo Yu Hin was vigorously shaken and suffocated into unconsciousness on multiple occasions.

The boy died after Gan repeatedly smothered him in his cot, hit him, and left him lying face-down.

Gan and Neo were arrested by the police on Sept 2, 2024, after the boy was pronounced dead at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

The couple pleaded guilty on Oct 12 to various charges relating to Trevor's death and ill-treatment.

The prosecution is seeking 14 to 15 years' jail for Gan, and 15 to 16 years' jail for Neo, who faces an additional charge of causing hurt to his wife.

High Court judge Hoo Sheau Peng said the couple treated the abuse "almost as a joke, a laughing matter", reported The Straits Times.

Baby shaken hard at 41 days old

Trevor was born on Dec 9, 2023, to the new parents, who had wedded that August.

The abuse began about a month after his birth, with the couple shaking their son to induce unconsciousness whenever he cried.

Gan had done so after witnessing Neo do it, stated court documents seen by AsiaOne.

On one occasion, Trevor was about 41 days old when he was vigorously shaken from left to right by Gan. The newborn fell unconscious and did not respond when Gan later tried feeding him.

Thereafter, the couple exchanged a series of text messages about the shaking. Neo told Gan not to be "very violent" or the baby may suffer brain damage.

When Gan replied with details of how she shook Trevor, Neo sent a smiley face and said "later stupid stupid only ma".

The conversation continued with Neo telling Gan to give their son a "gentle" shake and saying that Gan's "method" caused the boy to cough.

The couple subsequently decided to send Trevor to the hospital, where he was hospitalised for about six days for observation. No injuries were found on him.

Once, when Trevor was less than or about two months old, Neo covered his nose and mouth until the baby turned purple and vomited.

He told his wife he feared killing their son and did not want to take care of him anymore.

Despite this, Neo later resumed the abuse.

For a period of two weeks in April 2024, Neo again covered his crying son's nose and mouth to make him lose consciousness.

Gan started following suit, using a blanket whenever Trevor cried.

From May to August, she used her hands and applied pressure to his face. Neo saw her doing so and did not intervene.

The couple also hit their son on numerous occasions, inflicting hits, slaps, and pinches on the boy.

In a form of abuse, Neo pinched the baby's fingers 20 to 30 times forcefully, as he found the infant's reaction funny.

He also once dug around his son's mouth to stop him from crying, causing the boy to bleed.

On the night of Sept 1, Trevor started crying in his cot, which prevented Gan from falling asleep.

Between 9.30pm and 11.30pm, she repeatedly pressed on her son's nose and mouth, each time for up to a minute, whenever he cried.

When the baby continued crying, Gan pressed on his face again while hitting her hand which was covering the boy's face.

She then flipped him face-down and fell asleep. Neo was playing a mobile game in the room and did not stop Gan.

At about 11.30pm, Neo discovered that Trevor was not breathing. He woke his wife and told her to check on their son while he went to the toilet.

Later, the couple performed CPR on their child.

Neo then told Gan to book a taxi to the hospital.

According to court documents, Neo told Gan during the taxi ride to the hospital that if the police did not get involved, they could continue living their lives and not worry about money anymore.

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

一对年轻夫妇长期虐待他们年仅八个月大的儿子，导致他夭折。周一（10 月 12 日），这对夫妇对与儿子死亡相关的指控认罪。

母亲 Chloe Gan Ci Xuan（23 岁）和父亲 Neo Jia Ming（27 岁）将于 10 月 21 日被判刑。

高等法院于 10 月 12 日获悉，婴儿 Trevor Neo Yu Hin 曾多次遭到剧烈摇晃和窒息，直至失去知觉。

甘某多次用手捂住男孩的脸，把他按在婴儿床上，殴打他，然后让他脸朝下躺着，男孩最终窒息而死。

2024年9月2日，男孩在KK妇女儿童医院被宣布死亡后，甘和尼奥被警方逮捕。

10月12日，这对夫妇对与特雷弗的死亡和虐待有关的各项指控认罪。

检方要求判处甘某 14 至 15 年监禁，判处尼奥 15 至 16 年监禁，尼奥还面临一项伤害妻子的额外指控。

据《海峡时报》报道，高等法院法官胡秀萍表示，这对夫妇对待虐待行为“几乎就像开玩笑一样，觉得好笑”。

婴儿出生41天后遭剧烈摇晃

特雷弗于 2023 年 12 月 9 日出生，他的父母是同年 8 月结婚的新婚夫妇。

虐待行为在他出生大约一个月后就开始了，每当儿子哭闹时，这对夫妇就会摇晃他，让他失去知觉。

据亚洲新闻网看到的法庭文件显示，甘是在目睹尼奥这样做之后才采取了行动的。

有一次，特雷弗出生约41天时，甘用力地左右摇晃他。这个新生儿随即失去知觉，甘后来试图喂他时，他也没有任何反应。

之后，这对夫妇就摇晃婴儿一事互发了一系列短信。Neo告诉Gan不要“太用力”，否则婴儿可能会脑损伤。

当甘回复了她如何摇晃特雷弗的细节时，尼奥发了一个笑脸表情，并说“以后再说吧，笨蛋笨蛋，只有妈妈”。

谈话继续进行，Neo 告诉 Gan 轻轻摇晃他们的儿子，并说 Gan 的“方法”导致孩子咳嗽。

随后，这对夫妇决定将特雷弗送往医院，他在那里住院观察了大约六天。医生没有发现他身上有任何伤痕。

有一次，特雷弗还不到两个月大的时候，尼奥捂住了他的口鼻，直到婴儿脸色发紫并呕吐。

他告诉妻子，他害怕害死他们的儿子，不想再照顾他了。

尽管如此，尼奥后来还是继续施暴。

2024 年 4 月的两周时间里，尼奥再次捂住哭泣的儿子的口鼻，使他失去知觉。

甘也开始效仿，每当特雷弗哭的时候就用毯子盖住他。

从五月到八月，她用手按压他的脸部。尼奥目睹了这一切，却并未阻止。

这对夫妇还多次殴打他们的儿子，对男孩进行拳击、掌掴和掐捏。

尼奥对婴儿施以虐待，他用力捏了婴儿的手指 20 到 30 次，因为他觉得婴儿的反应很有趣。

他还曾挖开儿子的嘴巴，阻止他哭泣，导致孩子流血。

9 月 1 日晚上，特雷弗在婴儿床上哭了起来，这让甘无法入睡。

晚上 9 点 30 分到 11 点 30 分之间，每当儿子哭闹时，她都会反复按压儿子的鼻子和嘴巴，每次按压长达一分钟。

婴儿继续哭闹，甘女士一边用手捂着孩子的脸，一边再次按压孩子的脸。

然后她把他翻了个身，脸朝下，自己​​也睡着了。尼奥当时正在房间里玩手机游戏，并没有阻止甘。

晚上11点半左右，尼奥发现特雷弗停止了呼吸。他叫醒妻子，让她去看看儿子，自己则去上厕所。

随后，这对夫妇对他们的孩子进行了心肺复苏。

然后Neo让Gan叫辆出租车去医院。

根据法庭文件，Neo在乘出租车去医院的路上告诉Gan，如果警察不介入，他们就可以继续过自己的生活，不再为钱发愁。

lim.kewei@asiaone.com