From when young Mohammad Airyl Amirul Haziq was just two years old to the point of his death, the boy was subjected to heinous, savage abuse by his own mother.
On Aug 1, 2014, the boy died at the tender age of four, succumbing to injuries sustained from serious blows to his head. His violently sadistic mother, 35-year-old Noraidah Mohd Yussof, has since seen her initial jail term of eight years increased to 14-and-a-half years in July after the prosecution appealed for a heavier sentence.
In a judgment published yesterday explaining the rationale behind the apex court’s decision, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said that Noraidah’s pattern of conduct that “can only be described as cruel”, and that the toddler suffered “unspeakably severe” pain.
The torment faced by the toddler since March 2012 at the hands of his own mother was truly unspeakable.
March 2012
- Airyl was not able to follow his mother’s instructions when she tried to teach him the alphabet. She pushed him to the floor and stepped on his ribs.
- When the boy scribbled on a sofa, she aggressively twisted and pulled the boy’s hand.
- Airyl was taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he was treated for fractures to his left elbow, left calf, and right ribs.
- Noraidah lied about the injuries, claiming that the boy fell down a flight of stairs and at a playground.
- Child Protective Services (CPS) stepped in and fosterers took care of Airyl for three months before putting him under the charge of his maternal relatives.
- No further reports of abuse were found when Noraidah moved into the same house with her son. CPS closed the case on Feb 5, 2014.
July 2014
- For not being able to recite certain numbers in Malay, the son was shoved by his mother until he fell and hit the back of his head against a TV console.
- For defecating on the floor, he was kicked in the waist, and his mother even stood on his stomach with both her feet.
August 2014
- Airyl failed to recite some numbers in Malay again. The boy was shoved, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the floor. This went on repeatedly whenever he failed to recite the numbers.
- Punishment included having his knees stepped on a couple of times.
- The final torment: Noraidah pushed her son’s neck against a wall, lifting him off the floor, and only let go when the boy gasped for air. He became unresponsive and stopped moving.
- The mother called for help from a neighbor and lied that the boy had hit his head after a fall in the toilet.
- Airyl underwent emergency surgery but remained in critical condition and died four days later. His death was attributed to bleeding in the head, bruising of the scalp, and skull fracture.
