Singapore man jailed for assaulting four-year-old at bus stop

A Singapore man has been sentenced to 14 weeks in jail for assaulting a four-year-old boy at a crowded bus stop, the South China Morning Post reported. Muhammad Firdhaus Mokhtar pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt and using criminal force on a minor. A third charge was taken into consideration.

He was also ordered to pay S$170 in compensation to the child’s mother. The incident occurred on March 6, when Firdhaus went to a preschool to collect his son. The victim, who was his son’s schoolmate, had pointed his middle finger at him.

Firdhaus followed the child to a nearby bus stop, grabbed him and slapped both cheeks and his ear. The child fell to the ground after one of the slaps. Firdhaus also threatened him, told the helper to warn the child’s parents and said he would return on Monday.

Members of the public witnessed the incident, which was also captured by police camera footage. The boy suffered bruises to both cheeks and ringing in his ear. His parents said he later experienced nightmares, flashbacks and fear about returning to school, eventually transferring him to another preschool.

Deputy public prosecutor Etsuko Lim sought four to six months’ imprisonment, citing the sustained aggression, the force used and the fact that the assault occurred in daylight at a crowded bus stop in front of children. Defence lawyer Daryl Lim said there was no acceptable version of events and that his client fully accepted responsibility for the physical and emotional harm. Firdhaus apologised in court.

District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan called the violence against the child a vile and intolerable act.