Woman who died of head injury collapsed during struggle with two sons at home

[The_King]

SINGAPORE: A 52-year-old woman died of a head injury after collapsing during an altercation with her two sons at home, a coroner's court heard on Tuesday (Apr 26).

On the first day of a coroner's inquiry into the woman's death, a police investigating officer testified that both sons pushed her during the struggle and caused her head to hit the wall.

However, a forensic pathologist was unable to determine which blow caused the fatal injury.

The woman lived in a three-room flat with her 55-year-old husband and two sons, aged 21 and 17 at the time of the incident. All of their identities are protected by gag order.

The younger son is autistic and diagnosed to be minimally verbal and intellectually disabled, while the elder son was serving National Service at the time of the incident.

The woman was her younger son's main caregiver, caring for him on weekdays and working as a part-time sales assistant during the weekends.

Her husband worked as a bus driver. On the day of the incident, he had left the house for work at 4.30am.

THE INCIDENT

According to the elder son's police statement, he suspected that his mother was having an affair sometime in 2019.

Early in the morning on Aug 16, 2019, he saw her lying down on the sofa in the living room, where she slept, and speaking softly into her phone.

He eavesdropped on the call for a while, then confronted her and asked her who was on the phone. They got into a heated argument, during which he snatched the phone and threw it on the floor.

When the woman picked the phone up, her son slapped her and demanded the phone back, but she refused. He then punched her in the face.

They continued to struggle over the phone. The son pushed his mother on the shoulder, causing her to hit her head on the wall by the TV console. She then bit his arm and he punched her in the head again.

The younger son entered the living room at this point and hit his elder brother on the shoulder. As the two brothers struggled, their mother came towards them.

At this point, the younger son pushed his mother and she fell backwards, her head hitting the wall. She got up and took two steps, then fell to the floor, had a seizure and vomited.

The elder son called the ambulance and a friend to take care of his younger brother, while trying to stop his mother's seizures.

Paramedics arrived at the flat at about 6.25am and saw the woman lying on her back in the living room.

They questioned the elder son, who admitted that they had a struggle during which he pushed her and her head hit the wall. After the paramedics noticed bruises on the woman's face, he also admitted to punching her.

As the woman was not responsive, she was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Her elder son accompanied her, while her younger son stayed at home in the care of the brother's friend.

The woman underwent brain surgery but her condition continued to deteriorate. She was eventually pronounced dead after midnight on Aug 24, 2019, eight days after the altercation.

Police were alerted to the case after the woman was admitted to hospital. Later in the afternoon on Aug 16, 2019, they arrested her elder son for causing grievous hurt by a rash act.

The woman's damaged phone was seized and forensic examinations performed on it to shed light on the incident, but no information could be obtained from it even after it was sent for repairs.

PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT

Both sons were assessed by Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrists after the incident.

The elder son admitted to growing increasingly upset with his mother over her alleged affair about two months before the incident.

He was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, with the symptoms starting two months before his mother's death.

The psychiatrist said that these depressive symptoms led to poor judgment, which likely served as a contributory factor to the alleged offence.

The younger son was diagnosed with autism before he turned five.

He was only able to give his name during the IMH examination, with no other meaningful communication possible.

Officers who tried to interview him after the incident also found that he was not able to answer questions and released him.

The psychiatrist found that the younger son was not of sound mind and unfit to plead in court.

FATAL BLOW

An autopsy report concluded that the cause of death was head injury.

The examiner found that the woman's injuries were consistent with either a direct blow to her head with a blunt object, or a fall resulting in her head having impact with a hard surface.

The police concluded that it was not possible to tell with any certainty which of the woman's two sons was directly responsible for her fatal injury, the investigating officer testified.

In consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, the police issued the elder son a two-year conditional warning for voluntarily causing hurt.

Given the younger son's mental state, no further action was taken against him, said the investigating officer.

After turning 18, the teenager was no longer able to attend school programmes and was placed in a home in November 2019.

He has remained there since, with visits by his father and his mother's brother every week. They have applied for him to be housed there permanently.

The woman's next-of-kin did not attend the coroner's inquiry at the State Courts on Tuesday.

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said he would issue his findings on Jul 1.

Source: CNA/dv(ac)

[aaur4man]

shag sia this case. 

 

[Huat Zai]

Hai, RIP