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SINGAPORE: A 30-year-old woman was sentenced to 14 months in jail on Wednesday (October 28) for willfully hurting a young child in her care.
The defendant was working as a domestic worker at the time of the incident, when she repeatedly submerged the victim’s hand in boiling water. The victim was 16 months old at the time.
When the incident occurred on January 14, the victim was in the home with the victim and the victim’s eight-year-old sister while her parents were away.
Not all parties can be named in this case to protect the identity of the victim, who is a minor.
The defendant had been working for her employers since December 8 and her duties included looking after the two children. After two weeks of work, she told her employers that she wanted to work for another employer because she felt unable to care for the children.
The employers linked her to her employment agent, who told her that she would have to incur a cost for the transfer, so the defendant decided to continue working for the family.
At around 5:15 p.m. on the day of the incident, the maid was cooking dinner when the victim began crying in her room. The maid took the girl into the kitchen and carried her while she continued cooking.
A minute of closed circuit television (CCTV) footage was played in court, showing the defendant suddenly grabbing the girl’s left hand and placing it in a pot in front of her.
The boy screamed, but the defendant took the hand and placed it in the water at least one other time, before putting it under the tap.
When the victim started crying, the victim’s sister came out of the bathroom. The defendant told the sister that the girl had put her own hand in the pot while it was being carried.
The sister called her father, who told her to apply aloe vera and toothpaste to the victim’s hand.
He returned home around 6.40pm, took the victim to a nearby clinic and then to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for treatment.
The victim was found to have second degree burns to his forearm. His wounds are completely healed, but he will have a burn scar.
The defendant initially told her employers that the victim had accidentally touched the pot, but the next day, the defendant once again told the victim’s father that she wanted a transfer or to go home. He became suspicious and decided to review the CCTV footage with his wife.
After learning that the defendant had put the victim’s hand in the pot of boiling water, they confronted her with the evidence. She admitted that her actions were deliberate.
The couple filed a police report.
CRUEL AND BRUTAL ASSAULT: FISCAL
Assistant District Attorney Jane Lim, who asked for a jail term of at least 16 months, said the defendant had committed a “brutal” and “cruel” assault on a vulnerable young victim who was defenseless.
“Using a heated substance is an especially cruel way to cause harm,” Ms. Lim said, noting that a second-degree burn could lead to infection and scarring.
The victim was not causing any disturbance that led to such an attack at the time, he argued, adding that the defendant had violated the trust placed in her by the victim’s parents.
Although the defendant pleaded guilty, the deputy prosecutor said little weight should be put on this fact, as the defendant was caught red-handed. She had denied the crime and only pleaded sincere when she was presented with evidence.
However, Ms. Lim said she acknowledged that the incident was “fleeting”.
Defense attorney Lolita Andrew, representing the defendants, said the maid was also “vulnerable” and had been working seven days a week. During the time she was with the family, she had no day off and was only allowed to call her family in Myanmar once, using the employer’s phone. He did not have a mobile phone of his own that would give him “an outlet” to vent.
At the time of the incident, the defendant was struggling to appease the boy and finish cooking in a specified time.
Ms Andrew, who had requested a sentence of no more than eight months, said that the defendant had acted “unexpectedly” and immediately put the victim’s hand under running water after realizing what she had done.
The victim also suffered no permanent injuries, he added.
In court, Ms. Andrew read an apology written by the maid to both the victim and the parents. In it, she said she was “very sorry for the incident” and “had no intention of harming the victim.” He also said that he had felt “very bad all this time.”
“Hopefully one day they can forgive me,” he said.
The defendant, who had been in pretrial detention since April 8 and appeared via video link, wept when the letter was read.
In response, Ms. Lim said that the defendant was not in a vulnerable state as she was well fed and did not face any physical or mental abuse from her employers. When she applied for a transfer, she had been connected to the employment agency.
Ms Lim said that a “blanket approach” cannot be taken for all domestic workers and that each case must be contextualized. In this case, the defendant did not suffer any deprivation from the family.
District Judge Ong Chin Rhu sentenced the former maid to 14 months in jail starting on April 8.
For willfully causing harm through a heated substance, the defendant could have been imprisoned for up to seven years or fined. She cannot be spanked due to her gender.
