Couple Jailed for Brutal Abuse of Three Children in Lewisham Home
A shocking case of child abuse has ended with a couple sentenced to years behind bars. Yea Ping Chan, 42, and Foo Khong Heow, 49, both from Lewisham, were locked up at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday, 27 April, after admitting to cruelty against three vulnerable children in their care.
Horrific Abuse Shocks Officers
Chan was handed four years and two months, while Heow was sentenced to three years and four months. The abuse came to light on 1 September 2017, when police were called to their Baring Road home following a tip-off from the NSPCC about a three-year-old girl covered in bruises.
Officers found the child with severe bruising on her cheeks, arms, and neck. She was wearing gloves indoors, reportedly to hide bite marks on her hands. When questioned, Chan bizarrely claimed the bruises were from a prayer ritual involving sucking on the child’s face.
The two older children—a six-year-old girl they adopted and a seven-year-old boy also in their care—said Chan punished the youngest for biting her fingernails and toenails, sometimes with the involvement of Heow.
Shocking CCTV Footage Uncovers Daily Abuse
Police seized extensive CCTV footage from the property, revealing nearly 170 hours of abuse. The footage showed the three-year-old being dragged from bed by her hair and subjected to hours of relentless violence, including biting, shaking, hitting with objects, and forced stress positions.
Chan was caught on camera stuffing cloths into the child’s mouth and sitting on her body, while Heow was seen forcing his feet into the child’s mouth and beating the two younger children with a stick.
Justice for the Children
Doctors identified 54 non-accidental injuries on the youngest victim, confirming the extent of the cruelty. After the arrests, all three children were placed in foster care for their protection.
“Both Chan and Heow carried out a despicable campaign of abuse on three young, defenceless children,” said PC Alice Hammick-Smith from the Met’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command. “These children should have been protected from harm by Chan and Heow, but instead were subjected to extreme violence almost daily. The overwhelming evidence forced guilty pleas, and I’m glad they have received custodial sentences. I hope this verdict warns others against such heinous crimes.”
Chan and Heow were initially charged in December 2017 and have now been brought to justice for their horrific offences.
