Man sentenced to nearly 10 years in jail and cane strokes for abusing young boys

A man was sentenced to nine years and 10 months’ jail, and eight strokes of the cane on Friday for abusing multiple young boys who were under his care.

The man beat his youngest victim – a six-year-old boy – with a hanger more than 600 times, forced him to hold a push-up position for hours, and made him sleep in the toilet and drink his own urine.

The boy suffered severe injuries as a result, including to his ribs, lungs and kidneys, and was hospitalised for 46 days.

The 31-year-old Singaporean man took care of young foreign students who lived in accommodation provided by the company where he worked, which his aunt owned. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his victims, also abused two other boys, aged 10 and 11.

He had also pleaded guilty in July to making a false declaration related to hiring a foreign domestic worker to perform housekeeping duties for the accommodation.

District Judge John Ng said the sentence sent out the community’s collective message – that the ill treatment and abuse of young vulnerable victims cannot be tolerated and that any cruelty against them is “wholly to be condemned”.

He noted that the most serious of the man’s offences were committed against his youngest victim.