• The parents of a toddler whose remains were found years after her death are accused of neglecting their other children as well
• On the murder charge for both, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said it applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the mother
• The prosecution will still proceed with the murder charge against the father
• AGC reminded the public of the gag order imposed by the court, to not publish anything that may likely to lead to the identification of the toddler or her parents

SINGAPORE — Prosecutors on Friday (Feb 5) applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for a murder charge against the 31-year-old mother of a toddler, whose remains were found in a Chin Swee Road rental flat in September 2019.

This means that the capital charge can be revived later, and she can still be prosecuted for the alleged offence in the future should new evidence emerge, for instance.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said in a statement on Friday that it applied for the discharge “after reviewing the facts and evidence of the case”.

However, the mother’s lawyer objected to the possibility of the murder charge being revived in future and sought a discharge amounting to an acquittal instead. 

Both the woman and her husband had been remanded for psychiatric observation previously.

The case was adjourned to March 2.

The mother also faces 12 other criminal charges, including wilfully neglecting to provide the two-and-a-half-year-old girl with medical aid and neglecting their four other children.

As for the toddler’s father, the prosecution will be proceeding on a murder charge against him, the AGC said in its press release.

He faces 13 other charges, some of which are similar to his wife’s. They will be stood down pending the resolution of his capital murder charge, which can lead to the death penalty if convicted.

New details from the AGC showed that the couple had allegedly neglected their four other children as well.

They were first charged in September 2019 with the toddler’s murder, and cannot be named due to a court order to protect the identities of their other children. 

They have been in remand since June 2019 for other offences. The mother is now serving a jail sentence of five years and two months for drug and theft charges. 

They are accused of killing their daughter at Block 52 Chin Swee Road in March 2014 but the girl’s remains were only discovered more than five years later, supposedly in a metal pot in the flat.

Court documents showed that they allegedly burned her body, put the remains in a metal pot that was further encased in a sealed box and then kept the box “under the kitchen stove” in the flat.

Both are accused of:

• Abusing three of their children, including the dead toddler, over nine to 12 months

• Wilfully neglecting four of their children, excluding the girl, by leaving them without adult supervision, adequate food or water over two days

• Perverting the course of justice by disposing of and concealing the girl’s body

• Providing false information to a public servant about her whereabouts

The father also has three other unrelated charges, including one of rioting with four others on April 5 in 2018. 

He was also charged with consuming methamphetamine in June 2018. He was admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre twice before in 2011 and 2016 for abusing drugs. 

His third charge was for failing to return to a community supervision centre on Feb 13 last year, after leave was granted for him to be employed at a food supplies company from November 2017 to April 2018. 

The AGC said on Friday that the public should keep in mind the gag order imposed by the court, which restrains the publication of the name, address, photograph or any evidence likely to lead to the identification of the toddler or her parents.

“The breach of a gag order is an offence punishable with up to 12 months’ imprisonment. 

“The public and the media are also advised to refrain from speculating or making any public comments on matters that may be sub judice, pending final determination by the courts.”