Chin Swee Road child death
The Chin Swee Road flat where Umaisyah's skeletal remains was discovered. Toys and flowers were placed outside the flat by sympathizers as condolences to the late Umaisyah | |
| Date | March 2014 – September 2019 |
|---|---|
| Location | Chin Swee Road, Tiong Bahru, Singapore |
| Outcome |
|
| Deaths | "Umaisyah" (full name unknown) |
| Non-fatal injuries | None |
| Convicted | Umaisyah's father (real name unknown) Umaisyah's mother (real name unknown) |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Culpable homicide not amounting to murder (one count; Umaisyah's father) Multiple other charges (Umaisyah's father) Child abuse (Umaisyah's mother) Perverting the course of justice (Umaisyah's mother) |
| Sentence | 21+1⁄2 years' imprisonment and 18 strokes of the cane (Umaisyah's father) 14 years' imprisonment (Umaisyah's mother) |
Known as the Chin Swee Road child death case, the charred skeletal remains of a 30-month-old girl, whose given name was Umaisyah (c. July or August 2011 – c. March 2014), were first discovered hidden and sealed inside one of the metal cooking pots from a flat in Chin Swee Road on 10 September 2019. After they uncovered the identity of Umaisyah's remains, the police found that her parents, who used to reside in the flat, were likely responsible for killing the girl five years before in March 2014. The cause of Umaisyah's death was due to her father slapping her on the face twice or thrice with great force, which resulted in a traumatic brain injury that led to a brain seizure, causing Umaisyah to die and her parents, who did not seek medical help for her, burnt the body to avoid detection of their daughter's death and abuse and the father's drug use.
Upon the discovery of the girl's death in 2019, Umaisyah's parents, who themselves were in prison serving sentences or pending trial for unrelated offences since 2018, were both charged with murder. The victim and couple cannot be named due to the courts issuing a gag order in 2019 to protect the identities of their other children (who were still alive), although the gag order was partially lifted in 2023 to allow the media to report only Umaisyah's given name but other details like her own surname or her parents' identities are not revealed in the media.
Eventually, Umaisyah's father was found guilty of a reduced charge of manslaughter and three other charges unrelated to Umaisyah's killing in September 2023, and he was jailed for 21+1⁄2 years with caning (18 strokes). Umaisyah's mother, who received a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for murdering Umaisyah, was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in February 2024 on charges of abusing her children and perverting the course of justice.