After appealing to reduce his sentence, the man saw it increased to life imprisonment instead.

A Singaporean man’s attempt to reduce his 35-year sentence for killing his five-year-old daughter ended with the Court of Appeal raising it to life imprisonment due to the extreme cruelty of his crimes.

Appeal Backfires With Harsher Sentence

In a tragic case that shocked Singapore, a 45-year-old man who abused and killed his five-year-old daughter had his jail sentence increased from 35 years to life imprisonment on July 11, 2025. The man, who cannot be named to protect his son’s identity, appealed for a shorter sentence — only for the Court of Appeal to rule that the severity of his crimes warranted a harsher penalty.

Initially sentenced to 34.5 years and 12 strokes of the cane in 2023 after pleading guilty to six charges — including culpable homicide, child abuse, and disposing of evidence — the man was spared caning due to a medical condition. He was instead handed an additional six months in prison.

Years of Torture End in Tragedy

Ayeesha, the victim, suffered prolonged abuse after moving in with her father and stepmother in early 2015. From 2016, she and her brother were confined naked in a kitchen toilet for nearly 11 months. Starved and forced to eat their own faeces, Ayeesha weighed only 13.2kg at the time of her death in August 2017.

On the night of August 10, her father slapped her 15 to 20 times, later punching, kicking, and stamping on her. She was found dead the next day. The father attempted to cover up the abuse by disposing of a CCTV camera and lying to police, claiming she hit her head at a playground. He was arrested on August 12 after bringing her body to the hospital.

Court Deems Case Among Worst

Though the prosecution did not appeal for a longer sentence, the Court invoked its discretion to increase it. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, along with Justices Steven Chong and Judith Prakash, concluded that the “truly horrific and difficult to imagine” nature of Ayeesha’s suffering justified a life sentence.

Deputy Public Prosecutors James Chew and Maximilian Chew argued the man’s prolonged and brutal abuse placed the case among the worst instances of culpable homicide in Singapore. The court agreed, citing the depth of cruelty and the emotional and psychological trauma endured by the child.

Stepmother’s Trial Still Pending

The man’s wife, 34, also faces four charges of ill-treatment and two counts of giving false information to authorities. Her trial is ongoing, with a pre-trial conference set for July 15, 2025. Like the father, she allegedly took part in the children’s confinement and neglect.

Ayeesha and her brother had previously been in foster care but were returned to their father in 2015. From then, the children were isolated from social services and education, as their father lied about their whereabouts.

This case serves as a painful reminder of the importance of vigilant child protection systems and the severe consequences of parental abuse. For both Singaporean and Indonesian readers, it underscores the need to empower communities, improve monitoring, and ensure that children never suffer in silence again.

Sources: Must Share News (2025) , CNA (2025)

Keywords: Singapore Father, Child Abuse Case, Life Sentence, Culpable Homicide, Ayeesha Case, Court of Appeal