Woman whose spouse was jailed over kid's death accused of abusing stepchildren

A woman has been accused of abusing her two stepchildren, in a case which saw the High Court sentence her husband to 34 1/2 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane over the death of his biological daughter.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

The 34-year-old woman was handed multiple charges on Jan 7, including four counts of ill-treating a child.

She is said to have barricaded the children in the corner of a room measuring around 90cm by 90cm from February to October 2016.

The children were allegedly let out only for meals and baths.

The siblings were also confined naked in a bathroom from October 2016 to August 2017. They were between two and five years old at the time.

The woman, who allegedly committed the offences with her husband, indicated that she will plead guilty at the next hearing on Feb 4.

Although the couple cannot be named to protect the identity of the boy who survived, a High Court judge lifted the gag order in relation to his older sister so that society may remember the girl.

Ayeesha was only five when she died from a head injury in 2017. Her brother was only four then.