Man, 37, slaps 4-year-old boy for pointing middle finger, gets 14 weeks’ jail
A man who witnessed a four-year-old boy pointing his middle finger at him slapped the child twice across the face in front of several pre-schoolers, while gripping the boy’s arm.
On Sept 30, Muhammad Firdhaus Mokhtar pleaded guilty to one count each of assault and using criminal force on another person, and was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail. The 37-year-old was also ordered to pay $170 in compensation, according to The Straits Times.
Court documents revealed that the incident happened at about 12pm on March 6, when the offender was picking his son from a pre-school located near Block 875 Woodlands Street 82.
His son was playing with another boy in the vicinity when the latter pointed his middle finger towards the offender.
Feeling angry, the offender called the boy over, but he headed towards the bus stop instead, with the offender following behind.
Slaps boy across the face twice
At about 12.07pm, while at the bus stop, the offender grabbed the victim’s right arm while speaking to the child’s domestic helper, 28-year-old Siti Nurjanah. He reportedly told her to inform the child’s parents that he should not make such a gesture.
He also threatened to slap the boy, prompting Siti to apologise.
The victim attempted to hide behind a pillar, but the offender pulled him out by the collar.
The offender then spoke to the victim while gripping his right arm, before striking the right side of the boy’s face with the back of his hand.
He proceeded to slap the left side of the victim’s face with his other hand, causing the boy to collapse to the ground.
Pre-school children witness incident
Siti attempted to pull the boy away, but the offender maintained his grip on the victim and pointed his fingers at him. He then let the boy go by swinging him backwards by his arm, causing him to stumble.
The Straits Times reported that the offender also threatened to break the victim’s finger, and said he would return for him on another day.
Several pre-school children witnessed the incident.
The offender was arrested on the same day.
Addressing the court on Sept 30, the child’s mother said she was perturbed by the incident and that her son continues to have nightmares. She added that her son was subsequently transferred to another pre-school and had not fully recovered from the incident.
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