by Elena Chong
A FORMER Aetos auxiliary officer was jailed for 15 months on Wednesday for biting and slapping a two-year-old girl under his care.
The 53-year-old man, who cannot be named as there is a gag order, bit the child on her left thigh between late December 2009 and early January last year as he felt irritated with the victim for disturbing his sleep.
In early January last year, he was at home with her when she dropped her milk bottle on the floor several times.
He became irritated and proceeded to slap her four to five times. Later, when the victim interrupted him as he was about to sleep, he bit her on the right side of the neck and left a bite mark.
The court heard that initially the child was under the care of her godfather until his wife left home with the victim after a dispute and took her to the home of the accused and his wife in December 2009.
The accused, who had pleaded guilty to ill-treating the child, could have been fined up to $4,000 and/or jailed for up to four years on each charge.