13-12-2023 (SINGAPORE) A Singaporean therapist has been sentenced to three weeks in jail for physically assaulting a nine-year-old boy with severe autism during closed-door therapy sessions in 2020. Nur Amira Muhamad Razali, 33, who had been the victim’s therapist for five years, pleaded guilty to the assault.
The distressing incidents came to light when the victim’s mother discovered injuries on her son after therapy sessions, leading her to install a hidden camera in the room. The camera captured Nur Amira physically abusing the boy on 29 July 2020, including hitting him and grabbing him by the neck. The mother promptly filed a police report on the same day.
The victim, diagnosed with severe autism at the age of four, was non-verbal, making him particularly vulnerable. Principal District Judge Jill Tan emphasized the child’s vulnerability during the sentencing and highlighted that Nur Amira had abused the trust placed in her by the victim’s parents.
Nur Amira, a graduate of the Singapore Institute of Management with a degree in Psychology and a registered behavioural technician, was employed as an educational and behavioural therapist at an autism therapy centre at the time of the offence.
Despite the prosecution recommending a jail term of four to six weeks, the court sentenced Nur Amira to three weeks. The judge justified the duration, stating that her 26-week pregnancy did not outweigh the severity of the case. The therapist could have faced a maximum penalty of three years in jail or a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. Additionally, the court could have imposed twice the maximum punishment, given the victim’s age below 14.
In a troubling revelation, it was disclosed that Nur Amira had previously assaulted a six-year-old child with autism in a separate case
