A 29-year-old man was sentenced to life behind bars and 15 cane strokes today for murdering a 9-month-old infant he was upset at for spilling a drink.
Mohamed Aliff Mohamed Yusoff was found guilty of smashing the head of his girlfriend’s son in his van at a Yishun car park. The baby, Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad, died of blunt force trauma on Nov. 7, 2019.
The authorities said Izz was with Aliff and his girlfriend Nadiah Abdul Jalil as they dined, and the two adults got into an argument over disciplining the baby for spilling a beverage.
Aliff offered to take care of Izz for the night and drove him to a multi-story car park on Yishun Street 81. There, Aliff slammed the baby’s head against the van’s wooden floorboard at least twice between 10pm and 12:15am.
In court, Aliff said the baby’s death was an accident caused when the infant “fidgeted and fell” from his arm while Aliff was trying to close the door.
The judge said his defense was contradicted by autopsy results and medical opinion.
After the incident, Aliff called Nadiah and met her in Jurong East where she found her son lifeless. He instructed her to say that the baby fidgeted and fell, and that the baby was still warm and turned cold when they went to the hospital.
Aliff then drove to the National University Hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead at 4:30am.
Surveillance footage from the hospital showed Aliff’s lack of urgency in seeking treatment for the child. He took 36 minutes to bring the baby from the car park to the hospital after he had freshened up and disposed of his mobile phone.
Nadiah testified in court that Aliff suggested they pay someone to bury Izz and report him missing a year later, but she refused and insisted her son receive a proper burial.
According to Justice Mavis Chionh, the death penalty was not warranted, and it was noted that the prosecution did not seek it.
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