Father played phone game as wife smothered baby to death: Singapore couple jailed for over 15 years each

In a tragic case of child abuse in Singapore, Chloe Gan Ci Xuan and Neo Jia Ming were sentenced to over 15 years in jail for the death of their eight-month-old son, Trevor.

The couple routinely subjected Trevor to violence, including shaking, slapping, and smothering, which culminated in his death.

Despite signs of abuse, neither parent intervened, and Neo's inattention was attributed to his preoccupation with a mobile game during the fatal incident.

The court heard that Gan suffered from a minor adjustment disorder, while Neo had no mental illness, as both faced charges related to causing and permitting abuse.

SINGAPORE, Oct 21 — A Singaporean father was playing a game on his phone as his wife repeatedly smothered their eight-month-old son to death, bringing a horrific end to months of abuse during which the couple shook, slapped and suffocated the infant to stop him from crying.

Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, and Neo Jia Ming, 27, were sentenced today to 15 years and three months and 16 years in jail respectively over the death of their son, Trevor Neo Yu Hin, Singapore-based media organisation CNA reported.

The couple had subjected Trevor to repeated violence for about seven months of his short life, with neither intervening when the other abused him.

According to court proceedings, Gan discovered that violently shaking her baby could make him stop crying or lose consciousness, having seen her husband use the same method.

The pair frequently shook Trevor before escalating to covering his nose and mouth or smothering him to silence his cries.

Neo also slapped the infant hard enough to leave bruises and forcefully pinched his fingers to observe his reaction.

Trevor was hospitalised for about a week at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) in January 2024 after losing consciousness when his mother shook him. Doctors found no injuries at the time.

In April that year, a nanny noticed bleeding beneath the baby’s tongue and insisted that his parents seek medical attention.

A doctor subsequently found signs of trauma inside Trevor’s mouth.

After leaving the hospital, Neo admitted to Gan that he had dug around inside their son’s mouth to stop him from crying, causing the bleeding.

By May, Gan’s mother had noticed bruises on Trevor and warned her daughter to stop hitting him.

But the abuse continued.

In early August, Neo instructed his wife not to hit the baby before an upcoming medical appointment, fearing that a doctor would notice the bruises and accuse them of abuse.

On September 1, 2024, Gan repeatedly pressed a blanket over Trevor’s face after becoming frustrated by his crying, while Neo was in the same room playing a game on his phone.

According to CNA’s account of the court proceedings, Gan turned to her husband during the assault and asked: “How? You want the baby to die?”

Neo replied: “Wait for the baby to make noise first, then you try again.”

When Trevor resumed crying, Gan again pressed down on his face before eventually turning him face down in his cot and going to sleep.

Later that night, Neo finished his phone game and checked on his son, discovering that the infant was no longer breathing and that his hands were cold.

He woke Gan, who found Trevor unresponsive with purple lips. The couple attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation but were unable to revive him.

Rather than calling an ambulance, Neo instructed his wife to arrange a taxi because he did not want to incur the cost of an ambulance.

On the way to hospital, he told Gan to remain silent and not say anything, suggesting that they could carry on with their lives without worrying about money if the police did not become involved.

Trevor was pronounced dead at KKH shortly after midnight on September 2, 2024. Both parents were arrested later that morning.

Gan pleaded guilty to three charges involving causing her child’s death, ill-treatment and permitting ill-treatment.

Neo admitted to four charges, including allowing his son’s death, ill-treatment, permitting his wife’s abuse of the child and domestic abuse of Gan.

The court heard that Neo had no mental illness, while Gan was assessed as having no postpartum psychiatric disorder around March or April 2024.

However, she may have suffered from an adjustment disorder that contributed to a minor degree to her offending, although it did not impair her ability to understand the risks of her actions.

Prosecutors had sought between 14 and 15 years’ imprisonment for Gan and between 15 and 16 years for Neo.

Gan’s lawyers argued for a sentence of no more than 12 years and six months to 13 years, citing her youth, inexperience as a first-time mother and mental condition.

Neo’s defence sought seven years and seven weeks, arguing that he had been absorbed in his mobile phone game during the fatal assault and had not instructed his wife to smother their son.

The prosecution, however, argued that Neo had encouraged Gan’s actions.

The couple married in August 2023 after Gan became pregnant earlier that year. Trevor, born that December, was their first child.

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在新加坡一起令人痛心的虐童案中，Chloe Gan Ci Xuan 和 Neo Jia Ming 因其八个月大的儿子 Trevor 的死亡而被判处 15 年以上的监禁。

这对夫妇经常对特雷弗施以暴力，包括摇晃、掌掴和窒息，最终导致他死亡。

尽管有虐待迹象，但父母双方都没有干预，而尼奥的疏忽被归咎于他在致命事件发生时沉迷于手机游戏。

法庭获悉，甘患有轻微的适应障碍，而尼奥没有精神疾病，两人都面临与造成和允许虐待有关的指控。

新加坡，10 月 21 日 — 一名新加坡父亲在玩手机游戏时，他的妻子反复捂住他们八个月大的儿子的口鼻，最终导致他窒息而死。此前数月，这对夫妇曾摇晃、掌掴并捂住婴儿的口鼻，以阻止他哭泣，最终酿成惨剧。

据新加坡媒体CNA报道，23岁的Chloe Gan Ci Xuan和27岁的Neo Jia Ming今天分别被判处15年零3个月和16年监禁，罪名是导致他们的儿子Trevor Neo Yu Hin死亡。

在特雷弗短暂的生命中，这对夫妇对他进行了大约七个月的反复暴力虐待，当对方虐待他时，两人都没有阻止。

根据法庭记录，甘女士发现，剧烈摇晃婴儿可以让他停止哭泣或失去意识，因为她看到丈夫也用同样的方法摇晃婴儿。

两人经常摇晃特雷弗，然后逐渐升级，捂住他的口鼻或捂住他的脸让他窒息，以阻止他的哭喊。

尼奥还狠狠地打了婴儿一巴掌，打得他身上留下了淤青，并用力捏了捏他的手指，观察他的反应。

2024年1月，特雷弗被母亲摇晃后失去意识，随后在KK妇女儿童医院（KKH）住院约一周。当时医生并未发现他有任何外伤。

同年四月，一位保姆发现婴儿舌头下方出血，并坚持要求婴儿的父母带他去看医生。

随后，医生在特雷弗的口腔内发现了外伤迹象。

出院后，Neo 向 Gan 承认，他曾挖开儿子的嘴巴让他停止哭泣，导致儿子嘴里出血。

到了五月，甘的母亲注意到特雷弗身上有瘀伤，并警告女儿不要再打他了。

但虐待行为仍在继续。

8月初，尼奥叮嘱妻子在即将到来的体检之前不要打孩子，因为他担心医生会注意到孩子身上的瘀伤，并指责他们虐待孩子。

2024 年 9 月 1 日，甘因特雷弗的哭闹而感到沮丧，便反复用毯子捂住特雷弗的脸，而尼奥则在同一个房间里玩手机游戏。

据中央社对庭审过程的报道，甘女士在遭受殴打时转向丈夫问道：“怎么回事？你想让孩子死吗？”

尼奥回答说：“先等宝宝发出声音，然后再试一次。”

特雷弗再次哭了起来，甘又按压了他的脸，最后把他翻过来，脸朝下放在婴儿床上，然后自己睡着了。

当晚晚些时候，尼奥玩完了手机游戏，查看儿子的情况，发现婴儿已经停止了呼吸，而且他的手冰凉。

他叫醒了甘，甘发现特雷弗昏迷不醒，嘴唇发紫。两人尝试进行心肺复苏，但未能救活他。

尼奥没有叫救护车，而是让妻子安排出租车，因为他不想承担救护车的费用。

在去医院的路上，他告诉甘要保持沉默，什么也别说，暗示如果警察不介入，他们就可以继续过日子，不用担心钱的问题。

2024年9月2日凌晨刚过，特雷弗在KKH医院被宣布死亡。当天上午晚些时候，他的父母被逮捕。

甘承认了三项指控，包括导致其子女死亡、虐待和允许虐待。

Neo承认了四项指控，包括放任儿子死亡、虐待、纵容妻子虐待孩子以及对Gan实施家庭暴力。

法庭获悉，Neo没有精神疾病，而Gan在2024年3月或4月左右被评估为没有产后精神障碍。

然而，她可能患有适应障碍，这在一定程度上导致了她的犯罪行为，尽管这并没有削弱她理解自己行为风险的能力。

检方曾寻求判处甘某 14 至 15 年有期徒刑，判处梁某 15 至 16 年有期徒刑。

甘的律师辩称，鉴于她年轻、初为人母缺乏经验以及精神状况，应判处不超过 12 年零 6 个月至 13 年的监禁。

Neo 的辩护律师请求判处七年零七周监禁，理由是他在致命袭击发生时正沉迷于手机游戏，并没有指示妻子闷死他们的儿子。

然而，检方认为，Neo怂恿了Gan的行为。

这对夫妇于2023年8月结婚，此前甘在当年早些时候怀孕。他们的第一个孩子特雷弗于同年12月出生。

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