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http://thecourtroom.stomp.com.sg/st...r_who_beat_toddler_to_death_gets_6_years.html
Father who beat toddler to death gets 6 years
Source: The Straits Times
THE father who killed his two-year-old daughter in a rage was jailed for six years yesterday.
Sallehan Allaudin, 27, was adjudged to have acted in a fit of rage upon catching the girl playing with his cigarettes.
Justice Lee Seiu Kin of the High Court disagreed with the prosecution that the cleaner’s actions were premeditated.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stella Tan had argued for Sallehan to be jailed for the maximum 10 years as a deterrent; she had also called for him to be caned as he had used extreme violence on a vulnerable victim.
But Justice Lee said deterrent penalties carry little effect in crimes committed in a fit of rage or passion. He also said he did not doubt Sallehan loved his daughter, Natalie Nikie Alisyia Sallehan, the eldest of his three children, all daughters.
Sallehan was first tried for murder but was acquitted and found guilty of culpable homicide. During last year’s trial, the court heard he went home on Jan 6 with a present for Nikie. But he found her breaking his cigarettes just two days after scolding her for doing so, and rage overcame him.
Justice Lee said Sallehan also had personal frustrations, which he took out on Nikie: He had been troubled by his inability to support his family and suspected his wife was cheating on him.
He scolded the child and when she cried, slapped her. As her wails got louder, he punched her until she bled from the nose.
An autopsy found she died of a rupture in a major vein.
Sallehan’s lawyer N. Kanagavijayan, asking for leniency, said the beating was a “one-off” and that Sallehan was not prone to violence.
His wife Rozanah Mohamed Yusoff, 25, who was in court yesterday, said she was looking forward to his release. “He’s a good, kind father and I trust him with our other children.”
