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Selina Lum
The times of the strait
Oct 6, 2020
An Indonesian domestic worker who stabbed her employer more than 90 times told the High Court on Tuesday (October 6) that she had been repeatedly raped by her older brother as a teenager.
Daryati testified that she used to face abuse by banging on her bedroom wall to vent her feelings.
She continues to be affected by the incidents and is receiving psychiatric treatment in prison, she said.
The Indonesian, who said she was two years younger than her official age of 28, took the stand for the first time when her murder trial resumed.
Daryati initially faced the mandatory death penalty for murder, under Section 300 (a) of the Penal Code, for repeatedly stabbing and stabbing Madame Seow Kim Choo, 59, at her Telok Kurau home on 7 May. June 2016.
In April this year, after a 17-day trial, prosecutors lowered the charge to murder under Section 300 (c), which carries life in prison or the death penalty, but said they were not pushing for capital punishment.
Daryati admitted the reduced charge and was convicted on the evidence presented during the trial.
But in a twist last month, the conviction was overturned after Daryati withdrew his guilty plea in hopes of obtaining a lower sentence based on psychiatric evidence.
She testified Tuesday that she wanted to return home less than two months after starting work in April 2016 because she was concerned for her family, who could not be reached.
Daryati said that she was “very angry” at Madame Seow for not allowing her to go home.
However, he maintained that he had no intention of killing his employer and that he had simply planned to use a knife to scare Madame Seow into giving him her passport.
“If he intended to kill her, why would he give her so many wounds? He would only stab her once or twice in the heart area instead of stabbing her so many times,” he said through an interpreter.
Daryati also revealed that he has had romantic relationships with two women.
His last girlfriend was a woman he met at a maid training center in Indonesia, who went to work in Hong Kong shortly before Daryati came to work for Madam Seow’s family.
Daryati said she was working abroad not by choice, but because her parents had asked her to do so to support the family.
She said that Madam Seow and her husband, Mr. Ong Thiam Soon, then 57, treated her well and gave her enough food and rest.
However, he did not have a mobile phone to communicate with his family and his lover Indah or any television or radio to entertain himself, he had no days off and was only allowed outside the house to walk the dogs.
Weeks after starting work, Daryati spoke to her mother on the phone for about 10 minutes, but was unable to speak to her lover.
Daryati said she called her family on two other occasions, but was unable to communicate.
After each call, she asked Madam Seow to let her go home, but was rejected.
She acknowledged that she had just started work, but said she was worried about her family. “Also, it is not my wish to work in Singapore,” she added.
Daryati’s lawyer, Mr. Mohamed Muzammil Mohamed, also asked him to explain an entry in his diary, in which he decided to carry out his plan quickly.
The May 12 entry read: “I have to be brave even if life is at stake. I am ready to face all risks / consequences, whatever the risk, I must be ready to accept it. My employer’s family is my target. . DEATH! !! “
Daryati said this meant that she was prepared to risk death by carrying out her plan.
The trial continues.
