Chin Swee Road child death

On 10 September 2019, an intellectually-disabled man living in one of the HBD units at Chin Swee Road was looking for food to eat in his home, which was previously occupied by his brother and the wife of the brother, and their children. Neighbours stated that the young man had been residing in the flat for three to four months, and occasionally, a friend was asked to come to keep check of the man's welfare and bring him food.[1]

Incidentally, inside the kitchen, the man, who was in his twenties, discovered a metal cooking pot, which contained the skeletal remains of a human child. The man, due to his low intelligence, did not recognise the corpse and hence cooked it, believing it to be food. The decomposing smell coming from the corpse alerted the neighbours, who immediately called the police,[2][3][4] who arrived at the flat and impounded the metal cooking pot and the human remains as evidence, as they classified the case as one of unnatural death.[5]

Through first-stage investigations, the police found that the human remains did not belong to a fetus, but it belonged to a girl aged approximately 30 months old, or equivalent to two years and six months of age. The parents were the brother and brother-in-law of the man who found the corpse inside the kitchen, and it was further established that the child died five years prior in March 2014, and the parents, who had three to five more children, were likely responsible for her death, and had possibly burned the body in order to conceal her death.[6][7][8]

According to police investigations, the parents, who themselves were already in prison charged with unrelated offences by September 2019, had lied to the social service agencies that the girl, whose birth was registered, was placed under the care of their relatives, even though there were confirmation that their other children were being taken care of by relatives, friends or social services.[9][10] Their case was well known to the community agencies in the neighbourhood.[11] In fact, on 9 September 2019, the day before the girl's corpse was found, the mother was sentenced to five years and two months' imprisonment for a total of four charges of drug-related offences and theft. The father was remanded since June 2018 for charges of rioting and consumption of methamphetamine.[12]

On 16 September 2019, a week after the discovery of the girl's skeleton, reports revealed that the girl's biological parents were arrested for their involvement in the case, now known as the "Chin Swee Road murder" case in the media. The parents and the girl were not named due to a court gag order issued to protect the identity of her surviving siblings. Under the law, the death penalty would be imposed in cases of offenders found guilty of murder.[13][14] The authorities gave assurance that the victim's siblings were still safe and under stable care.[15]

On 17 September 2019, the couple, who were both Singaporeans, were officially charged with murder at the State Courts for allegedly murdering their two-year-old daughter.[16][17] The 31-year-old father, who was awaiting trial for the other three charges, was given a remand order on 24 September 2019 to undergo psychiatric evaluation for killing his daughter.[18][19][20] The 30-year-old mother, who already begun serving her sentence of five years and two months, was ordered on 1 October 2019 by the district judge to be remanded in Changi Prison's Complex Medical Centre for three weeks for psychiatric observation.[21][22] The Attorney-General's Chambers warned members of the public to not breach the gag order, after some people published purported photographs of the girl's parents and family members, which amounted to potential risk of identifying the victim or anyone related to her.[23][24][25] Anyone who breaches the gag order can be jailed up to a year, fined a maximum of S$5,000, or both.[26]

On 5 February 2021, two years after the couple were charged with murder, the prosecution, having reviewed the evidence and case thoroughly, decided to apply for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the mother with respect to killing her daughter, meaning that the murder charge would be temporarily set aside, with the possibility to revive it should new evidence surfaced. The mother's lawyers objected to the prosecution's decision, as they sought a full acquittal of the murder charge, which would mean the mother cannot be prosecuted for the same offence again. On the other hand, the prosecution confirmed that they would proceed with the original murder charge against the father.[27][28][29]

On 2 March 2021, the mother was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for murdering her daughter.[30][31][32] She, together with her husband, were also charged with 12 counts of having abused the victim and their other surviving children, perverting the course of justice, as well as giving false information to the social welfare agencies in relation to the girl's whereabouts.[33][34] The mother was offered a S$80,000 bail in November 2021.[35][36]

As of 2023, the couple are pending trial for the girl's abuse, and the father remains facing a murder charge for killing the girl. A gag order remains to protect the identity of the girl.

The Chin Swee Road child murder shocked the whole of Singapore when it first came to light in September 2019, due to the unusual circumstances of the case. Several people went to the flat to place toys and gifts outside, to pay respects and show sympathy to the deceased victim. Several members of the public also called for justice to be served.[37] Member of Parliament (MP) Lily Neo expressed her condolences to the girl.[38]

There were intentions by the government to strengthen network of agencies and community organisations to provide better care for welfare of children without stable caregivers. For cases of children "without alternative caregivers" or had safety concerns during their operations, these children will be referred to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), who would ensure the children be placed under stable care arrangements.[39][40]

Within a year since the discovery of the girl's death, there were two more high-profile murders of young girls whose parent(s) were charged with murdering them. One of them was the case of Megan Khung Yu Wai, a four-year-old girl who was allegedly killed by her mother and the mother's boyfriend in February 2020 before having her corpse burned three months later; the couple were eventually caught and charged in July 2020. Another was an eleven-year-old schoolgirl who was allegedly killed by her stepfather and mother, who were both arrested and charged in November 2020.[41]

The Chin Swee Road murder case was considered one of the most significant familicides (also including the Woodlands double murders) in Singapore in recent years.[42]

• Capital punishment in Singapore
• List of major crimes in Singapore (2000–present)
• List of major crimes in Singapore (before 2000)