A couple who allegedly abused their son to his death in 2016 have been acquitted of murder by common intention yesterday, with the High Court directing that the prosecution file alternative charges.

The original charge against Azlin Arujunah and her husband, Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman, carries the death penalty.

Justice Valerie Thean asked the prosecution yesterday to submit alternative charges against the couple, both 27, for allegedly inflicting severe scald injuries on their five-year-old child.

The couple also continue to face charges over other allegedly abusive acts, including confining the boy in a cage meant for the family's pet cat, pinching him with a pair of pliers, and hitting him with a broom.

The boy cannot be identified due to a gag order.

Court documents state that the boy allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of his parents at their one-room flat in Toa Payoh from July 2016 onwards.

Between Oct 15 and Oct 22 that year, the couple allegedly splashed hot water on him on at least four occasions, using water from a hot water dispenser in the kitchen.

When the boy collapsed after the last scalding incident on Oct 22, his parents took him to hospital.

Doctors found the child to be in a critical condition with injuries such as second-to third-degree burns, multiple facial wounds and a broken nose.

Despite the hospital's best efforts, the boy died from his injuries on the morning of Oct 23.

Ridzuan was arrested the same day, while Azlin was arrested on Oct 25.

Yesterday, Justice Thean found there was no evidence to infer a common intention by the couple to inflict on their son injuries that were sufficient to ordinarily cause death, which is an essential element of the charge they were each facing.

She asked the prosecution to submit alternative charges for the duo's alleged actions in causing severe scald injuries to the boy instead.

She also said she would deal with the alternative charges and the other charges faced by the couple collectively at a later date.

On Nov 27 last year, during the trial, Justice Thean called for the duo to give evidence in their defence, after finding that the prosecution had made out its case against them.

Justice Thean also told the duo that if they elected to remain silent, the court can draw an adverse inference against them in deciding whether they were guilty or not.

Both Azlin and Ridzuan chose not to testify, leaving their respective psychiatrists as the only witnesses to do so in their defence.

Azlin's psychiatrist, Dr Jacob Rajesh, told the court on the same day his client was facing multiple stressors in 2016, including the death of her grandmother and mother.

He had stated in an earlier report that Azlin was suffering from an adjustment disorder with depressed mood.

Court documents also state that Ridzuan's psychiatrist, Dr Ung Eng Khean, diagnosed him as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intermittent explosive disorder and hypnotic use disorder at the time of his alleged abusive acts.