Belgian expat jailed for 5 years for killing son in Singapore
Court documents showed Philippe Graffart, 42 was locked in a bitter custody battle over his son Keryan with his estranged French wife when he smothered the boy with a cushion after giving him a sedative
Philippe Graffart, 42, was sentenced on a reduced charge of culpable homicide instead of murder, after psychiatric findings showed he had “diminished responsibility” for suffocating his son Keryan with a pillow in their apartment.
Murder is punishable by hanging in Singapore.
Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng said she took into consideration the grievous nature of the offence, the fact that it had been committed against a vulnerable child, and the fact that the offender was the child’s own parent.
“This sentence is necessary to show that the accused’s actions are not to be condoned,” Hoo said.
For culpable homicide without the intention of causing death, Graffart could have been jailed up to 10 years, caned and fined - or any combination of the three penalties.