- Neo Jia Ming, 27, and Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, were jailed for fatally abusing their 8-month-old son Trevor, who died in September 2024 after months of abuse.
- Neo’s family said they were in shock and could not accept the case, as they had seen him as a hardworking father and Gan as soft-spoken and devoted.
- Court papers said the couple shook, smothered and hit Trevor, and joked about brain damage; Neo also abused Gan, and both pleaded guilty on Oct 12.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - The family of a man who was sentenced to jail with his wife over the fatal abuse of their 8-month-old son is still struggling to reconcile the details of the case with the young father they thought they knew.
To his mother and his older sister, Neo Jia Ming, 27, was a hardworking father who juggled jobs to support his young family, while his wife, Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, was soft-spoken. The couple appeared devoted to each other and did not show any of the abusive behaviour revealed in court documents.
On Oct 21, Neo was sentenced to 16 years’ jail while Gan was sentenced to 15 years and three months’ jail. They had smothered, shaken and hit their baby Trevor Neo, who died in September 2024 after enduring abuse for most of his short life.
The married couple had on Oct 12 each pleaded guilty to three charges relating to Trevor’s abuse. Neo also had a domestic abuse charge for assaulting Gan multiple times.
Speaking to reporters at the High Court after sentencing on Oct 21, Neo’s mother and elder sister described their shock and disbelief at what had happened.
“It doesn’t seem like what my brother would do. Till now, I’m still not able to accept it,” said Neo’s sister, a 29-year-old professional in the automobile industry who only wanted to be known by her surname.
Their mother, 64, who only gave her surname as Koh, said she had told her son to marry Gan after the girl became pregnant, as she felt he should take responsibility for the child.
The young couple, she recalled, tried to find information on parenting to prepare for Trevor’s arrival.
Neo worked to provide for his family by working as a food delivery rider and pet groomer. Gan was also a pet groomer who quit after her confinement period, said Neo’s sister.
His sister helped out by buying milk powder and diapers and sometimes transferred Neo money when he asked. But she otherwise thought he was “quite self-sufficient”.
The couple did not mention any struggles when they occasionally brought Trevor to family dinners.
“They only said they were tired,” said Koh.
Baby always wanted hugs
Koh, who works at an Hougang coffeeshop, said she saw her grandson “only occasionally” due to her and her son’s conflicting work schedules.
She never noticed any injuries on the baby, who she remembers loved being carried.
“He was very obedient and always smiled. He never cried. He had a face like a ‘big biscuit’,” she said in Mandarin.
Neo’s sister added: “He always wanted people to hug him.”
The last time Neo’s mother saw Trevor was a few weeks before his death. She had given him a bath and said she did not see any bruises nor abnormalities.
Nor did the family suspect that Gan was being abused. Neo’s sister said her brother doted on Gan, who was always by his side.
The couple also went for two short holidays after Trevor’s birth, she said. “He would save up money to put the baby at the nanny’s home, and bring Chloe on holiday.”
According to court documents, Neo physically abused Gan between February and August 2024.
He punched her multiple times at an arcade at Kallang Wave Mall because he was angry she had played a game on her own even though he had told her he wanted to play with her.
He also punched her at a bus stop after she accidentally led them onto the wrong bus.
For Neo’s mother and sister, the revelations remain difficult for them to square with their impressions of him.
After the hearing, they spoke with Neo and told him to work hard for his future.
Gan’s parents, who were in court, declined to comment when approached.
A ‘do-first, think-later’ guy: Neo’s friend
Friends of the couple who had attended the High Court hearing showed a more complicated picture.
A 22-year-old national serviceman who gave his initials as D.Q. described Neo as an impulsive man who tended to regret his actions.
“He was a do-first, think-later kind of guy,” he said. D.Q. had introduced the couple to each other after meeting them through gaming.
Their friends were aware that he was “a bit rough with (Chloe)”, said D.Q, adding that the behaviour stopped for a while after he “talked some sense into him.”
But parenting took its toll. They lost touch for a while due to busy schedules. The next time D.Q heard about the family, baby Trevor was dead.
Court documents showed that Gan and Neo abused Trevor by shaking him, or covering his mouth and nose to stop him from crying.
Gan also hit the infant on numerous occasions. Neo slapped Trevor, dug his fingers into his son’s mouth, and hit him. He also repeatedly pinched Trevor’s fingers to provoke a reaction from the baby, which he found funny.
The couple exchanged messages about the abuse, and joked about how the shaking could cause brain damage.
Trevor died after Gan smothered him, hit him in the face and turned him face down on the mattress on the night of Sept 1, 2024.
The baby was pronounced dead at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital at about 12.20am on Sept 2. The couple were arrested after hospital staff lodged a police report.