Bukit Batok murder: 5-year-old boy was fostered out, getting ready to live with mum permanently

The 5-year-old son of a woman who was found dead at a flat in Bukit Batok last Saturday (Jan 6) had been living with a foster family and was preparing to return to his mum's care.

In a statement on Jan 6, the police said the woman was found lying motionless inside the unit, and she was subsequently pronounced dead at scene by paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

The woman's son, a five-year-old boy suffered injuries and was taken conscious to the National University Hospital.

A 65-year-old man was charged in court on Jan 7 with the murder of the woman, who was his neighbour.

According to a friend of the deceased, the woman also has a three-year-old daughter, reported 8world on Jan 8.

Both children had previously been placed in foster care by the authorities, said the friend.

The friend, who declined to be named, told the Chinese news outlet that the woman was estranged from her family and did not hold a stable job.

The woman reportedly told the friend that her husband, who hails from China, was irresponsible and physically violent towards her.

However, the friend is unsure if they had divorced and his whereabouts are also unknown.

The friend added that the woman loved her children and had been diligently trying to work out a suitable care arrangement for her kids.

"She had been working hard to meet the criteria set out by the authorities and hoped to find a stable job to increase her income.

"Some time ago, she asked me to help introduce her to a better job, but she was unexpectedly killed before it could be settled," said the friend.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, a Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) spokesperson said that the five-year-old boy and his younger sibling have been cared for by the same foster parents since April 2022 and June 2021 respectively.

"At the time of the incident, the five-year-old child was on home leave with his mother, as part of a process towards eventual reunification," said the spokesperson.

According to an MSF handbook for foster parents, foster children can keep in contact with their natural family via supervised phone calls, text messages, letters and supervised/unsupervised access of outings or home leave.

Home leave refers to when the foster child stays overnight with their natural family/relatives either during weekends, festive seasons or school holidays.

A family member of the deceased told 8world on Jan 9 that the boy has been discharged from hospital, and has returned to the care of his foster parents.

"MSF is providing psychological support to the children and working closely with the foster parents to support them," the spokesperson told AsiaOne.

lim.kewei@asiaone.com