{"id":92353,"date":"2026-10-12T17:11:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=92353"},"modified":"2026-10-12T17:11:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:11:03","slug":"parents-convicted-of-abusing-baby-to-death-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=92353","title":{"rendered":"Parents convicted of abusing baby to death in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013<!-- --> A young married couple who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/couple-charged-over-death-of-their-8-month-old-baby?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">habitually abused their eight-month-old infant<\/span><\/a> for most of his life before he died in 2024 pleaded guilty to their respective offences on Oct 12.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The mother, Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, and the father, Neo Jia Ming, 27, will be sentenced on Oct 21.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo, who found it funny to abuse his son, also admitted to assaulting his wife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">During the hearing, High Court judge Hoo Sheau Peng remarked that the couple treated the abuse of their son \u201calmost as a joke, a laughing matter\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Their son, Trevor Neo Yu Hin, died by <!-- -->suffocation<!-- --> at Gan\u2019s hand. She had hit him in the face and turned him face down onto the mattress on the night of Sept 1, 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo knew his wife was abusing the child but did nothing to protect Trevor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Trevor was pronounced dead at KK Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital (KKH) at about 12.20am on Sept 2. The couple were arrested after hospital staff lodged a police report.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">An autopsy could not determine the definitive cause of death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On Oct 12, Gan and Neo admitted that they regularly shook Trevor or <!-- -->covered his mouth<!-- --> to stop him from crying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On numerous occasions, Gan also hit the infant on his <!-- -->arms<!-- -->, chest, thighs and buttocks, resulting in bruises over his body.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo physically abused Trevor by slapping him, digging his fingers into his son\u2019s mouth, hitting him on his <!-- -->arms<!-- -->, legs, chest and buttocks, and repeatedly pinching his fingers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The couple exchanged messages about abusing their son and sometimes nonchalantly and jokingly described the effects the violent shaking could have on him, such as causing brain damage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">They joked that he could have been exhausted by the constant shaking.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"portrait inline-media-wrapper\" style=\"--aspect-article-portrait:1140 \/ 1783\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/d14aec7b7cd20075cd15f6928e193636148ea0c0f39b8a28de7a872415fc2a4a?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/d14aec7b7cd20075cd15f6928e193636148ea0c0f39b8a28de7a872415fc2a4a?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/d14aec7b7cd20075cd15f6928e193636148ea0c0f39b8a28de7a872415fc2a4a?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/d14aec7b7cd20075cd15f6928e193636148ea0c0f39b8a28de7a872415fc2a4a\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/d14aec7b7cd20075cd15f6928e193636148ea0c0f39b8a28de7a872415fc2a4a\" alt=\"Neo Jia Ming, 27, knew his wife was abusing the child but did nothing to protect Trevor.\u00a0\" class=\"aspect-portrait flex items-start shrink-0 portrait article-portrait object-contain mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 pt-08 pb-16\">\n<p class=\"inline text-secondary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">Neo Jia Ming, 27, knew his wife was abusing the child but did nothing to protect Trevor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline text-tertiary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\"> <!-- -->PHOTO: ST FILE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Gan pleaded guilty to three charges, one for causing Trevor\u2019s death by an unlawful act, one for ill-treating him and one for knowingly permitting Neo to ill-treat Trevor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo pleaded guilty to four charges, one for allowing Trevor\u2019s death by an unlawful act, one for ill-treatment of the baby, one for knowingly permitting Gan to ill-treat Trevor and one for assaulting Gan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The prosecution is seeking 14 to 15 years\u2019 jail for Gan, and 15 to 16 years\u2019 jail for Neo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo\u2019s lawyer, Johannes Hadi, sought a jail term of seven years and seven weeks, arguing that his client was overwhelmed by the task of taking care of the baby.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Gan\u2019s lawyer, Cory Wong, sought a jail term of 12\u00bd to 13 years. He argued that his client, who was between 20 and 21 years old at the time, had followed her husband\u2019s lead in abusing the infant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Prosecutors told the court that Gan moved out of her parents\u2019 home to live with Neo in his Hougang flat after she found out she was pregnant in April 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The couple married on Aug 2, 2023, and Trevor was born on Dec 9, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">After she was discharged from hospital after giving birth, Gan stayed at her parents\u2019 home and took care of Trevor with the help of a confinement lady. Neo stayed there for two weeks.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Frequent shaking<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In January 2024, the couple and Trevor moved back to Neo\u2019s flat, where two of his uncles also lived.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">From February 2024, the couple engaged a nanny to look after Trevor during the day on weekdays. Other relatives helped to care for Trevor on weekends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Soon after moving back to the Hougang flat, the couple frequently shook Trevor vigorously to stop his cries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Once, when Trevor was about 41 days old, Gan shook him while Neo was at work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She went back to sleep after Trevor became unconscious.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Later, when Trevor did not respond when she tried to feed him, she exchanged text messages with Neo about the incident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Trevor was hospitalised for observation from Jan 18 to Jan 23, 2024. No injuries were found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Before Feb 18, 2024, Neo covered Trevor\u2019s nose and mouth with his hands for about a minute, until the baby vomited milk and turned purple.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">After this incident, Neo told Gan he did not wish to take care of Trevor any more because he was afraid he might kill him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo continued to abuse Trevor in this manner every day for two weeks in April 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Initially, Gan covered the infant\u2019s face only with a blanket to muffle his cries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">By May 2024, when Trevor could pull the blanket away, she put her hands over his nose and mouth, and pressed down on his face to make him lose consciousness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On numerous occasions between April and August 2024, Gan hit the infant whenever she became frustrated when he cried or did not fall asleep.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In May 2024, her mother noticed the bruises on Trevor\u2019s body and warned Gan not to hit the baby any more. Despite the warning, Gan continued to hit the infant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On March 5, 2024, Neo slapped Trevor, leaving bruises on his face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He texted Gan to tell her that if people asked about the bruises, she should say that he had accidentally dropped a phone on the baby\u2019s face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Once, on his way to the nanny\u2019s home, Neo put his hand into Trevor\u2019s mouth and dug around until he bled under his tongue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The nanny noticed the injury and asked what had happened, but Neo lied that he did not know.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">When the nanny insisted that Trevor be seen by a doctor, Neo and Gan took him to KKH on April 2, 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A medical examination noted redness under his tongue. After they left the hospital, Neo admitted to Gan that he had hurt the baby.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Dad found abuse funny<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On another occasion, Neo grabbed Trevor\u2019s palm and fingers and squeezed them forcefully, leaving a bruise on the baby\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Between May and July 2024, Neo pinched Trevor\u2019s fingers 20 to 30 times per occasion because he wanted to provoke a reaction from the baby, which he found funny.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo also often hit Trevor on the thighs, buttocks and chest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On Aug 2, 2024, he texted Gan, telling her not to hit Trevor at all until Tuesday to avoid leaving bruises apparently because they were taking the baby to a doctor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Between February and August 2024, Neo also physically abused Gan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Once, at an arcade at Kallang Wave Mall, Neo punched her multiple times because he was angry that she had played a game on her own even though he had told her he wanted to play with her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On the evening of Sept 1, 2024, Gan was on the bed using her mobile phone and Neo was playing a game on his mobile phone when Trevor cried.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Gan went to the cot, pulled a furry blanket over Trevor\u2019s face and pressed down for close to a minute as he struggled and twitched.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She repeated this three to four times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While doing this, she asked Neo: \u201cHow? You want the baby to die?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She also remarked: \u201cIf anything happens, we will go to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">After Trevor stopped crying, she left the blanket on his face and went back to bed, while Neo continued to play his game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">When Trevor cried again, she covered his nose and mouth with both hands, one on top of the other, and pressed down hard. She then pounded her right hand, which was covering Trevor\u2019s face, with her left fist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She then flipped Trevor over so that he lay face down and left him in that position before going to sleep.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">At about 11.30pm, after Neo finished his game, he observed that Trevor was not breathing and his hands were cold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He woke Gan up and asked her to check on him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Both parents performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the baby, but there was no pulse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Neo told Gan to book a taxi to KKH as he did not want to incur the additional cost of summoning an ambulance when it was obvious to him that the baby was dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On the way there, he told Gan to keep quiet and not say anything. He said that if nothing happened and the police did not get involved, they could continue living their lives and not worry about money any more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/you-want-the-baby-to-die-parents-convicted-of-abusing-their-8-month-old-son-to-death\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 A young married couple who habitually abused their eight-month-old infant for most of his life before he died in 2024 pleaded guilty to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":92354,"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-92353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92353","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=92353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/92354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}