Couple forced maid to do chores only in bra and short pants, caned her, made her eat own vomit
Shaffiq Alkhatib
A married couple repeatedly abused their maid, caning and kicking her and force-feeding her a mixture of rice and sugar before ordering her to eat her own vomit when she threw up.
On one occasion, Myanmar national Moe Moe Than, 32, was forced to perform her chores clad in only her bra and short pants.
She was also told that an assassin would be hired to kill her family members back home.
On Monday (March 18), one of the tormentors, former senior sales manager Chia Yun Ling, 43, was sentenced to three years and 11 months' jail and a fine of $4,000. She was also ordered to pay the maid $6,500 in compensation.
District Judge Olivia Low sentenced her husband, Tay Wee Kiat, 41, who used to work as a regional IT manager, to two years' jail, and ordered him to pay a compensation of $3,000.
After a 31-day trial, the judge convicted the couple on March 4 of maid abuse.
Chia was convicted of eight assault charges and one count of using abusive words towards the maid.
The judge also found the mother-of-three guilty of six offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
These included forcing the maid to perform her chores scantily clad and failing to give her enough food.
Judge Low found Tay guilty of six assault charges.
The Myanmar national started working at the couple’s Yishun home on Jan 8, 2012.
When she told Chia that she had not been given enough food, her employer wedged a funnel into her mouth and force-fed her until she threw up. The maid was then ordered to eat her vomit and she complied.
On Monday, Judge Low noted that Chia had restricted Ms Moe Moe Than’s toilet usage to three times a day.
She added: “The deprivation of a basic human right to manage one’s bodily functions strikes at the core of one’s dignity... and constituted ill treatment.”
Chia had also ordered the maid to strip from the waist down before caning the latter’s bare buttocks.
The judge said that this was a “humiliating mode of punishment”.
Tay abused Ms Moe Moe Than through acts such as caning and kicking her while she was in a “push-up position”. He also used a broomstick and metal clothing hook to hit her.
The offences came to light when Ms Moe Moe Than returned to Yangon on Nov 12, 2012, and told her Myanmar agent about her plight.
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower was later alerted and it arranged for her to return here about a month later. The maid later testified in court and told Judge Low about her ordeal.
The judge convicted the couple after the trial but she also acquitted them of two charges each.
Chia had been acquitted of failing to ensure that all outstanding salaries due to Ms Moe Moe Than had been paid before her repatriation.
Tay, on the other hand, had been acquitted of instructing their other maid, Ms Fitriyah, 34, to hit the Myanmar national.
On Monday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kumaresan Gohulabalan said the prosecution will be appealing against the acquittals.
Defence lawyer Wee Pan Lee told the court that his clients have not decided on whether to appeal against Judge Low’s decisions.
The couple have been released on bail of $15,000 each and if they decide not to appeal, they will surrender themselves at the State Courts on March 27 to begin serving their sentences.
Prior to the trial involving Ms Moe Moe Than, the couple had been taken to court for abusing Ms Fitriyah, who goes by only one name.
In March 2017, District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan sentenced Tay to two years and four months’ jail for abusing the Indonesian maid. Chia was given a two-month jail term for assaulting her.
Both the prosecution and the defence later appealed against Judge Shaiffudin’s decisions.
Following their appeals in the High Court last March, Tay’s jail term was increased to three years and seven months, while Chia’s sentence remained at two months.
The couple remained free until the second trial, which concerned the abuse of Ms Moe Moe Than.
With an upcoming appeal involving Ms Moe Moe Than’s case, the High Court will decide in the future on how the sentences for the cases involving both maids would be served.
This will take place after the appeals involving the Myanmar national’s cases are concluded.
Couple who hit maid, forced her to pour hot water on herself and starved her gets convicted
Posted on 19 January 2019 | Shaffiq AlkhatibJan 18, 2019Tormented for months, a maid was forced to perform multiple acts of self-harm, including pouring scalding hot water on herself and drinking dirty water mixed with detergent.
Ms Phyu Phyu Mar also did not receive her monthly salary of $700 throughout her employment with her abusers, and her weight plummeted from 50kg to 38kg because of a lack of food.
On Friday (Jan 18), District Judge Olivia Low found Linda Seah Lei Sie, 39, and her husband Lim Toon Leng, 44, guilty of abusing the Myanmar national following a 15-day trial.
Seah, who manages Anew Me Beauty Aesthetic salon at The Centrepoint shopping mall in Orchard Road, was convicted of five assault charges and one count of causing the maid to drink the tainted water.
The judge found her interior designer husband guilty of one count of assault.
The Singaporean couple, who have a five-year-old daughter, committed the offences in their Punggol Walk flat between August and October 2016.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Sarah Shi and Jotham Tay said in their submissions that Seah employed Ms Phyu Phyu Mar from February to October that year.
The DPPs added that the maid received her full salary only in November that year when the Ministry of Manpower intervened.
Delivering her verdict on Friday, the district judge said: "Linda and Lim sought to portray themselves as considerate and concerned employers. But this could not be further from the truth."
Ms Phyu Phyu Mar testified during the trial that Seah made her pour hot water on herself on two occasions - in August and September 2016.
On Friday, Judge Low said that according to the prosecution, Seah was unhappy with the maid and boiled some water in a kettle before asking the Myanmar national to pour some on her own left shoulder. The maid complied.
The second incident took place after Seah became angry as she felt that the maid was slow in completing her chores.
The judge said: "Linda poured the hot water into a cup and threatened Phyu Phyu Mar by saying that if Phyu Phyu Mar did not do as Linda instructed, Linda would then pour the hot water on herself and inform the police that it was Phyu Phyu Mar who did it and Phyu Phyu Mar would be sent to jail."
The maid suffered scald marks and blisters on her skin when she complied.
Instead of taking her to a doctor, Seah gave her a needle and told her to puncture the blisters herself.
Besides these incidents, Seah also ordered the maid to drink tainted water, made her hit her head against the floor, grabbed the Myanmar national's hair and used a mobile phone to repeatedly hit her.
On Oct 13, 2016, Lim punched Ms Phyu Phyu Mar's forehead twice after he wrongly assumed that she had thrown away his spectacles.
The court heard that the Myanmar national used to accompany Seah to her salon a few times a week and one of its workers alerted the police the next day.
Police went to the couple's flat on Oct 15, 2016, and Ms Phyu Phyu Mar was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital where she was warded for six days.
Seah, who is represented by lawyer R.S. Bajwa, is out on bail of $10,000 while her husband's bail was set at $5,000.
Lim is represented by lawyer Kertar Singh.
The couple are expected to be sentenced on Feb 11.
Tormented for months, a maid was forced to perform multiple acts of self-harm, including pouring scalding hot water on herself and drinking dirty water mixed with detergent.
Ms Phyu Phyu Mar also did not receive her monthly salary of $700 throughout her employment with her abusers, and her weight plummeted from 50kg to 38kg because of a lack of food.
On Friday (Jan 18), District Judge Olivia Low found Linda Seah Lei Sie, 39, and her husband Lim Toon Leng, 44, guilty of abusing the Myanmar national following a 15-day trial.
Seah, who manages Anew Me Beauty Aesthetic salon at The Centrepoint shopping mall in Orchard Road, was convicted of five assault charges and one count of causing the maid to drink the tainted water.
The judge found her interior designer husband guilty of one count of assault.
The Singaporean couple, who have a five-year-old daughter, committed the offences in their Punggol Walk flat between August and October 2016.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Sarah Shi and Jotham Tay said in their submissions that Seah employed Ms Phyu Phyu Mar from February to October that year.
The DPPs added that the maid received her full salary only in November that year when the Ministry of Manpower intervened.
Delivering her verdict on Friday, the district judge said: "Linda and Lim sought to portray themselves as considerate and concerned employers. But this could not be further from the truth."
Ms Phyu Phyu Mar testified during the trial that Seah made her pour hot water on herself on two occasions - in August and September 2016.
On Friday, Judge Low said that according to the prosecution, Seah was unhappy with the maid and boiled some water in a kettle before asking the Myanmar national to pour some on her own left shoulder. The maid complied.
The second incident took place after Seah became angry as she felt that the maid was slow in completing her chores.
The judge said: "Linda poured the hot water into a cup and threatened Phyu Phyu Mar by saying that if Phyu Phyu Mar did not do as Linda instructed, Linda would then pour the hot water on herself and inform the police that it was Phyu Phyu Mar who did it and Phyu Phyu Mar would be sent to jail."
The maid suffered scald marks and blisters on her skin when she complied.
Instead of taking her to a doctor, Seah gave her a needle and told her to puncture the blisters herself.
Besides these incidents, Seah also ordered the maid to drink tainted water, made her hit her head against the floor, grabbed the Myanmar national's hair and used a mobile phone to repeatedly hit her.
On Oct 13, 2016, Lim punched Ms Phyu Phyu Mar's forehead twice after he wrongly assumed that she had thrown away his spectacles.
The court heard that the Myanmar national used to accompany Seah to her salon a few times a week and one of its workers alerted the police the next day.
Police went to the couple's flat on Oct 15, 2016, and Ms Phyu Phyu Mar was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital where she was warded for six days.
Seah, who is represented by lawyer R.S. Bajwa, is out on bail of $10,000 while her husband's bail was set at $5,000.
Lim is represented by lawyer Kertar Singh.
The couple are expected to be sentenced on Feb 11.
Maid nearly blinded by employer who repeatedly assaulted her, forced to work without pay for 2 years
Posted on 30 August 2018 | Shaffiq Idris AlkhatibAug 29, 2018A woman who punched her maid in the face whenever she became angry, leaving her almost blind, was jailed for a year and eight months on Wednesday (Aug 29).
Singaporean Suzanna Bong Sim Swan, 46, also forced Myanmar national Than Than Soe to sleep on the floor, refused to pay her and did not give her any days off while employing her for more than 18 months, a court heard.
The maid became blind in her left eye due to injuries, including retinal detachment. She also suffered severe injuries to the right eye, the court heard.
District Judge Carol Ling had found Bong guilty of an assault charge in February following an eight-day trial.
Bong was also ordered to pay more than $38,000 in compensation - including the maid's medical expenses and prospective loss of earnings.
The court heard that after being employed by Bong in May 2013, the maid - who was 27 at the time - was not given any days off.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Tang Shangjun and Chong Kee En said in their submissions: "In addition to the physical abuse that she suffered, the victim was also exploited, as she was forced to work without pay... The victim testified that she had never been paid a salary throughout the two years that she was working for the accused. It was only after MOM (Ministry of Manpower) intervened that the victim was paid her salary in full."
During the trial, Ms Than Than Soe testified that Bong started finding fault in her work after the first four months she worked in a Yishun flat belonging to the Singaporean's parents. At first, Bong just scolded the maid but this slowly escalated into physical abuse.
The prosecutors said: "The accused would... generally inflict physical abuse on the victim about 'two to three times a week', with such attacks being concentrated on the victim's face. Such attacks often comprised the victim being punched in her eyes."
The abuse became worse after Ms Than Than Soe moved into Bong's Sengkang flat in early 2015, the court heard.
The maid said she would not be given dinner about three times a week, and occasionally lunch too. She was not given a mattress and had to sleep on her sarong on the floor.
The court heard that Bong would punch her maid in the eyes every time she became angry - as frequently as three times a week.
The DPPs said that as a result of these attacks, Ms Than Than Soe, who used have perfect eyesight, began to experience blurred vision around January 2014. The maid told the court that Bong also refused to take her for medical checks, despite the maid's complaints about her poor eyesight.
The court heard that Bong became upset on May 17, 2015, after she came home and smelt the medicated oil that Ms Than Than Soe had used to ease her headache, as the family dog did not like the smell.
Bong gripped the glass bottle containing the oil and hit the maid's left cheek three times.
Ms Than Than Soe told the police about her ordeal the next day and officers took her to hospital. Two days later, she was taken to a shelter for victims of violence.
A woman who punched her maid in the face whenever she became angry, leaving her almost blind, was jailed for a year and eight months on Wednesday (Aug 29).
Singaporean Suzanna Bong Sim Swan, 46, also forced Myanmar national Than Than Soe to sleep on the floor, refused to pay her and did not give her any days off while employing her for more than 18 months, a court heard.
The maid became blind in her left eye due to injuries, including retinal detachment. She also suffered severe injuries to the right eye, the court heard.
District Judge Carol Ling had found Bong guilty of an assault charge in February following an eight-day trial.
Bong was also ordered to pay more than $38,000 in compensation - including the maid's medical expenses and prospective loss of earnings.
The court heard that after being employed by Bong in May 2013, the maid - who was 27 at the time - was not given any days off.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Tang Shangjun and Chong Kee En said in their submissions: "In addition to the physical abuse that she suffered, the victim was also exploited, as she was forced to work without pay... The victim testified that she had never been paid a salary throughout the two years that she was working for the accused. It was only after MOM (Ministry of Manpower) intervened that the victim was paid her salary in full."
During the trial, Ms Than Than Soe testified that Bong started finding fault in her work after the first four months she worked in a Yishun flat belonging to the Singaporean's parents. At first, Bong just scolded the maid but this slowly escalated into physical abuse.
The prosecutors said: "The accused would... generally inflict physical abuse on the victim about 'two to three times a week', with such attacks being concentrated on the victim's face. Such attacks often comprised the victim being punched in her eyes."
The abuse became worse after Ms Than Than Soe moved into Bong's Sengkang flat in early 2015, the court heard.
The maid said she would not be given dinner about three times a week, and occasionally lunch too. She was not given a mattress and had to sleep on her sarong on the floor.
The court heard that Bong would punch her maid in the eyes every time she became angry - as frequently as three times a week.
The DPPs said that as a result of these attacks, Ms Than Than Soe, who used have perfect eyesight, began to experience blurred vision around January 2014. The maid told the court that Bong also refused to take her for medical checks, despite the maid's complaints about her poor eyesight.
The court heard that Bong became upset on May 17, 2015, after she came home and smelt the medicated oil that Ms Than Than Soe had used to ease her headache, as the family dog did not like the smell.
Bong gripped the glass bottle containing the oil and hit the maid's left cheek three times.
Ms Than Than Soe told the police about her ordeal the next day and officers took her to hospital. Two days later, she was taken to a shelter for victims of violence.
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