Valerie Chua, Author at Goody Feed

Man Stored Daughter's Remains in HDB Apartment for Half a Decade, Court Papers Reveal Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves to have a child. In 2014, the parents of two-year-old Umaisyah committed the unspeakable act of harming and ultimately killing the child. What is arguably more terrifying about the case is the parent’s subsequent decision to place Umaisyah’s remains in a metal pot and burn them in her uncle’s lorry until the body was charred beyond recognition. For more than five years after the incident, the parents concealed the metal pot by placing it in a cardboard box, wrapping it in cling film and masking tape, and placing the box under the kitchen stove in their house. It was only in August 2019 that the remains were discovered, though the body had been extremely close to being discovered as early as 2017. New court documents reveal how a combination of deception and lengthy jail sentences have contributed to how Umaisyah’s body remained hidden for so long. Umaisyah Was Regularly Abused By Her Parents Until Her Death in 2014 In November 2011, Umaisyah was placed in foster care as her father was detained in a drug rehabilitation centre and her mother was assessed to be unable to take care of her. The father’s long history of drug abuse and the mother’s neglectful tendencies would eventually foreshadow Umaisyah’s fate, as well as result in the long concealment of her body. In June 2013, Umaisyah was returned to the care and custody of her father and mother. Not being in close contact with her parents for up to two years, she was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with her biological parents. This was where she was subjected to abuse by her father, who would hit, punch and pinch her regularly. When Umaisyah's foster mother visited the girl over the period of July and August, she noticed that Umaisyah had lost weight, became more withdrawn and was less communicative. Everything reached a boiling point in March 2014, when Umaisyah had soiled her diaper and was found playing with her faeces by her parents, who proceeded to take out their frustration on her. At the time, her father was under the influence of methamphetamine, slapped her multiple times with great force, which resulted in her having a seizure which led to her death. Instead of seeking medical help after Umaisyah stopped breathing, the couple concealed her death by placing her body in a metal pot and setting her body on fire. After that, they placed the pot in a cardboard box and sealed it with masking tape and cling film. When asked about her whereabouts, Umaisyah’s parents began what would be a long string of lies: with the reasons ranging from the child being returned to her foster parents or being taken care of by family members overseas. In October 2016, Umaisyah’s father was once again placed in a drug rehabilitation centre for methamphetamine use. In mid-2017, however, Umaisyah’s uncle grew extremely close to discovering her body. Umaisyah's uncle found the box under the kitchen sink. Upon finding cockroach eggs in the cling wrap, he almost disposed of the box before Umaisyah’s mother stopped him. Her mother wrapped it with a new cling film and warned him not to touch it again, resulting in Umaisyah’s body remaining undiscovered for the next two years. In December that year, an officer from the Ministry of Education contacted Umaisyah's parents to check why she had not registered for Primary 1. Her mother lied that the girl was taken away by her father, who was estranged from the family after having left the drug rehabilitation centre. The father also lied to the officer that Umaisyah was living with his parents in Malaysia for the past three years and that he was unaware of her whereabouts. These lies resulted in no further investigation being done on Umaisyah’s disappearance. In February 2018, Umaisyah’s father failed to report to Lloyd Leas Community Supervision after his release from the drug rehabilitation centre. While on the run, he was arrested for rioting and remained under trial until May 11th, where he failed to show up for a mention in State Courts and yet another warrant of arrest was placed on him. On June 19, the man was arrested and found to be under the influence of methamphetamine once again. During this period while he was charged for a myriad of offences, Umaisyah’s body continued to remain undiscovered until August 2019. In August 2019, Umaisyah’s uncle moved back into the flat while the child’s mother was serving her own five-year sentence in prison. Remembering the cardboard box under the kitchen sink, he removed the cling wrap and opened the pot. He then discovered Umaisyah’s corpse, now an unidentifiable lump of black object that looked decomposed. In an eerie mirror of the events in 2017, Umaisyah’s uncle alerted the child’s mother about the pot, to which she told him to put the pot back under the stove and warned him against touching it. The next month, the uncle decided to show the friends of Umaisyah’s mother the contents of the pot, which raised suspicions among them. On 10 September 2019, a stroke of fate led to the unearthing of Umaisyah’s case, as the friends reported the burnt remains to the police. Umaisyah’s Father Now Sentenced to 21-And-a-Half-Years’ Jail, Mother’s Sentence Still Pending On 19 September 2023, about four years after the police report was made, justice was served to Umaisyah’s father, who is now sentenced to 21-and-a-half-years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to rioting, drug abuse and the killing of his daughter. As for Umaisyah’s mother, her sentence is still pending. She was initially charged with murder along with the offender, which was later withdrawn by the prosecution. More details and facts about the case can be found here.