A court in Singapore has been shown pictures of a cat cage that a five-year-old boy was allegedly kept in by his parents before they 'scalded him to death'.
Azlin Arujunah and Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman, both 27, are accused of pouring boiling water over their son at their home in the Southeast Asian city-state three years ago.
During the first day of their trial on Tuesday the court heard the five-year-old was kept in a cat box and tortured with heated spoons and pliers for months before he died.
His death was caused by blows to the head and a deluge of 198F water poured over his back and calves, prosecutors said.
A forensic pathologist told Singapore's High Court on Wednesday that lacerations on the boy's body could have been the result of the youngster being kept in the confined space.
Today his mother, Azlin, told the police three days after his death she did not intend to kill her child, saying 'how am I able to kill a child? Just look at my small body.'
In another statement, she said: 'I do not have the intention to pour the hot water on him if he did not show any attitude towards me.'
Speaking to police in a separate interview, Azlin claimed she 'only wanted him to learn his lesson' when she disciplined her son.
According to the Straits Times her statement said: 'If I had the intention of killing him, I would have killed my other children as well.
'But all my other children are safe and I do not beat them. As a mother, I would not have the heart to kill my own child.'
Earlier in the hearing Dr Chan Shijia said she examined the pet age measuring less than three feet long, under two feet wide and just over two feet tall.
She told the court the boy could have been scratched by the metallic bars while moving around the family's cat cage, Straits Times reports.
Pictures of the boy's burns and cuts on his body including injuries to his face and scalp, were shown on a screen in the court.
He had a fracture of his nose and bruising on his limbs and scalp and his lips and the youngster's gums were torn, the pathologist said.
Dr Chan added that these injuries would have been caused by either a fall or punch of 'a considerable amount of force', according to reports.
Among the list of horrific injuries were second to third degree burns, which covered 75 per cent of the boy's body, acute kidney injuries, dehydration, a broken nose, cuts on his face and isolated speech delay.
The child, who has not been named due to a court order, died just a day after he was admitted to hospital.
Prosecutors allege that in August 2016, the boy knocked over a biscuit tin and Azlin beat him so hard that his stomach was covered in marks. He also began to hobble due to a misaligned kneecap.
The boy's father placed a scorching metal spoon on his palm when the child 'stole' milk powder to eat, prosecutors said.
Azlin and Ridzuan allegedly scalded the boy on at least four previous occasions before his death and would bet hit with fists or a broom for the slightest wrongdoing.
On one occasion, the boy yelled 'are you crazy or what?,' which angered the parents into dousing him with more steaming liquid, prosecutors said.
On the day of his death, October 22, 2016, the boy was allegedly confined to a cat cage.
His mother wanted to bathe him but the child refused. His was called to discipline him and he poured a flood of hot water over his calf and back, the court heard.
The boy then toppled forward and stopped moving, a witness told the hearing on Tuesday.
Rather than immediately seeking medical attention, the parents waited six hours to take the boy to hospital, the court heard.
After the hospital informed the police, the parents were arrested over the following days.
A foster family has taken the boy in shortly after his birth in 2011 but he later returned to his biological parents in 2015.
Singapore's legal system maintains a mandatory death penalty for a number of offences, including murder.
If found guilty, Azlin and Ridzuan could be executed at the gallows in Changi prison.
It's reported that the abuse began just one year later when the parents started to 'psychologically torment the deceased in various ways', according to Deputy Public Prosecutors Tan Wen Hsien, Daphne Lim and Li Yihong.
Police examine the mental health of the parent while in custody but found no evidence to suggest they were of unsound mind during the murder.
Both defendants deny murder and the trial continues.
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