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SINGAPORE: A woman went to trial on Tuesday (December 8) accused of abusing two maids in her Sentosa Cove home by pinching, hitting and kicking them.
Tan Lee Hoon, 56, is contesting eight counts of willfully causing harm to two Filipino maids who worked for his home on 24 Paradise Island two years ago.
The court heard that Tan’s husband, Sim Guan Huat, employed Lizardo Joan Lozares, 33, as a domestic worker in October 2015, before hiring Jenefer Arangote Vegafria, 39, as a domestic worker in August 2018. .
Tan is accused of pinching Ms. Vegafría’s right biceps, stomach, chest, arm, and thigh in September 2019. Tan allegedly struck Ms. Lozares on the head with his hand and kicked her in the chest in October 2018, as well as hitting his torso with a stick another time that year.
On the morning of October 17, 2018, another employee informed the Ministry of Labor (MOM) that Ms. Vegafría was being beaten by her employer and claimed to have photos of the bruises.
Police were alerted and the two servants were taken to hospital.
IO FIRST TO TAKE FOOT
An investigating officer on the case was the first to take the prosecution stand on Tuesday.
She described how MOM informed her of the abuse case and went to 24 Paradise Island in Sentosa Cove, where she spoke with the victims and a police photographer took pictures of the locations where the alleged incidents occurred. These include a bedroom, a staircase, and the living room.
Based on the officer’s testimony and previous statements she took from the victims, one of the maids said she was helping Tan put on her shoes when Tan kicked her.
Another victim said Tan requested a massage, before using his toes to pinch the victim’s wrist.
“One of the victims said that they asked him to remove decorations from a tree or to hang something on a tree and something fell off, and the defendant was unhappy and injured them, but I can’t remember what exactly they did to them.” said the officer.
He added that closed circuit television cameras were installed at various angles in the house. The alleged abuse occurred on two floors, he said.
However, when the CCTV server was seized, the police were unable to retrieve any footage as there was no hard drive on the server and no video footage stored.
Thinking it was “a little off”, the officer consulted with the CCTV camera company that installed the devices. The head of the company said that no changes were made to the installation, so the CCTV should have all the accessories, including the hard drive, unless the family approaches another company to remove or modify them .
Tan Lee Hoon (right) is seen entering court on December 8, 2020 (Photo: Jeremy Long).
THE DEFENSE AFFIRMS THAT THE VICTIMS CHANGED STORIES
Defense attorney Sunil Sudheesan took note of the investigating officer’s testimony, comparing her evidence in court with what she asked the victims when she took their statements.
He referred the officer to allegations that sticks were used on the victims, noting that no sticks were seized on October 17, 2018, when the officer went to the scene.
“I clarified with (the victims) and they informed (me) that before removing them from the unit, the accused had disposed of all the sticks that were used,” said the officer. “They told me there were several, so when a stick (was) damaged, the defendant asked them to choose (a) new one, then when it broke, the defendant asked them to replace it.”
The officer said the maids told her that the sticks were thrown away or hidden, adding that she did not return to the scene to search for these “weapons,” nor did she check nearby garbage containers for sticks.
The defense claimed that the maids had “changed their stories many times,” but the investigating officer said she simply recorded what they said. The defense asked if the officer would agree to be given different versions of the maids’ stories.
“I recorded two statements (from each victim). They didn’t change, they just added more incidents. Regarding your question, I don’t think I can answer that,” he said.
The trial resumes on Wednesday, and one of the maids is expected to take the stand. If convicted of willfully causing harm, Tan could be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S $ 5,000, or both, for each count. Since the offenses are against maids, she could receive up to one and a half times the original punishment if found guilty.
