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SINGAPORE A 19-year-old youth with autism and a psychiatric condition who faced charges over assaulting his parents has been granted an acquittal by a district court here.<\/p>\n
Probation or a mandatory treatment order (MTO) was not recommended in this case, said District Judge Paul Quan in a judgment issued on May 26.<\/p>\n
The prosecution had applied for a discharge amounting to an acquittal over the teen\u2019s charges and issued a stern warning to him instead.<\/p>\n
Judge Quan commended deputy public prosecutors Nicole Teo and Chin Jincheng, as well as the youth\u2019s lawyer Aristotle Eng, for their efforts in finding an appropriate outcome.<\/p>\n
The acquittal means his client has no criminal record, and it is now for the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and his family to decide what is best for him, Eng told The Straits Times.<\/p>\n
The youth has autism spectrum disorder and adjustment disorder, both of which were found to have contributed to the offences.<\/p>\n
He had pleaded guilty in January to one charge of using criminal force against his father, and another charge of intentionally causing his father alarm.<\/p>\n
Two other charges of using criminal force against his mother, and another of committing a rash act endangering the personal safety of others by standing in the way of oncoming vehicles, were meant to be taken into consideration for his sentencing.<\/p>\n
On March 30, 2025, at their family residence, the youth had become frustrated over his exemption from national service, and being unable to complete school and gain employment. In an ensuing struggle, he pushed his father down by the neck on the bed.<\/p>\n
His mother called the police, and both parents managed to leave the residence while locking him in. In anger, the youth shouted: \u201cI want to kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pushed and kicked his mother on another occasion, but court documents did not give more details.<\/p>\n
He was later remanded at IMH. His sister, and subsequently his neighbour, stood as his bailor, and he lived alone in a hotel as bail conditions prohibited him from residing with his parents.<\/p>\n
But his parents admitted him to IMH again in July as he could not cope with living alone.<\/p>\n
While family violence must be deterred, the judge said there is less need for deterrence and retribution in this case.<\/p>\n
He noted the youth\u2019s status as a young first-time offender, and his reduced culpability given the circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cA person suffering from a mental illness that leaves him unable to appreciate the nature and consequences of his actions will not be deterred by the prospect of a custodial sentence,\u201d wrote the judge.<\/p>\n
But the youth\u2019s probation officer found he was unsuitable for probation, noting that he needed more intensive psychiatric treatment in a structured setting.<\/p>\n
His IMH psychiatrist assessed that he was not suitable for an MTO, given that his outbursts had continued despite ongoing treatment and other factors. An MTO lets offenders undergo treatment to address mental health conditions in lieu of jail.<\/p>\n
The prosecution proposed reformative training, where young offenders are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen, but the judge said the option \u201cappears to sit uncomfortably\u201d due to its deterrent and punitive effect.<\/p>\n
In March 2026, the youth alerted police that he was at risk of hurting himself. He was detained at IMH under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.<\/p>\n
An Attorney-General\u2019s Chambers spokesperson said the application for acquittal was made \u201cafter careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the matter\u201d, including the youth\u2019s ongoing detention at IMH.<\/p>\n
Judge Quan noted that the youth expressed remorse for hurting his parents. \u201cParticularly poignant was his acknowledgement that his parents loved him very much and never pressured him,\u201d said the judge.<\/p>\n
Though the court cannot mandate the youth\u2019s rehabilitation, the judge outlined four points that would help in the process: adhering to treatment, attending rehabilitative programmes, being meaningfully engaged in activities like work, and anchoring on others\u2019 support.<\/p>\n
Eng said his client\u2019s parents were relieved by the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I saw (his mother) in court, she would be in tears,\u201d said the lawyer.<\/p>\n
Veteran lawyer Peggy Yee, co-chair of the Inclusive Justice Taskforce<\/span><\/a>, believes it is the first time an acquittal has been granted to a person with special needs charged with family violence offences.<\/p>\n \u201cThat the (judge) worked with parties on an intensive exercise to tailor an appropriate sentence is a very heartening step forward,\u201d said Yee.<\/p>\n This case exemplifies a gap she has seen in existing sentencing options for offenders with invisible disabilities, which the task force will address.<\/p>\n She said the task force, which was formed in January and includes lawyers, policymakers and caregivers, is also considering ways to steer such individuals away from the justice system.<\/p>\n Eng said the case showed him the importance of community effort in resolving cases in the best interests of such individuals, \u201cas opposed to just sending (them) to prison and washing our hands of it\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone involved in this case felt a huge sense of responsibility and worked towards that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE A 19-year-old youth with autism and a psychiatric condition who faced charges over assaulting his parents has been granted an acquittal by a district…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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