SINGAPORE, May 5 — In the span of a few months, Tan Hui Mei physically abused her domestic worker three times and asked her to eat hair from the toilet floor as well as a piece of dirty cotton wool.
The 35-year-old administrative employee, who is currently pregnant with her fourth child, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail today.
She pleaded guilty to two counts of causing hurt to her 26-year-old Indonesian maid who goes by one name, Muslikhah.
Three other charges, including two of harassment, were taken into consideration for sentencing. They include the incidents where Tan forced Muslikhah to eat hair from the toilet floor and a piece of dirty cotton wool that was on a dining table, but court documents did not elaborate on the events that led up to these.
District Judge Shaifuddin Saruwan also ordered Tan to compensate the maid with S$3,200 (RM9,854.47) for her pain and suffering. The compensation was also inclusive of two months’ pay as the maid had remained unemployed for some time after reporting the abuse.
The court heard that Tan has three daughters and lived in a Housing and Development Board flat in Tampines.
Muslikhah arrived in Singapore in November 2018 and started working for Tan around then. She was paid S$600 a month to do household chores and look after Tan’s youngest child, then aged 18 months.
In December 2018, she called the police to tell them that Tan was unhappy with her work performance and slapped her a few times.
Tan’s lawyer said that this did not result in any further action as the police viewed the allegations to be unfounded.
Muslikhah decided to continue working for the family.
Court documents showed that between January and February 2019, Tan hit Muslikhah with a plastic clothes hanger.
On March 30, Muslikhah left Tan’s youngest child with Tan’s mother and other child after feeding and bathing the toddler. Tan was asleep then.
When the toddler began crying, Muslikhah did not attend to her as she thought Tan’s mother would do so.
Tan then confronted the maid and asked why she did not take care of the girl.
Tan did not accept Muslikhah’s explanation and slapped her on both sides of her face before hitting her forehead thrice.
The next day, Tan asked Muslikhah to give her a leg massage. When Tan noticed Muslikhah falling asleep as she massaged Tan, she pinched the maid’s forearm and told her not to close her eyes.
Muslikhah then confided in her sister, who was also working as a maid in another household here.
The other woman called the Centre for Domestic Employees, a non-governmental organisation that helps distressed workers, which in turn contacted the police.
The police went over to the flat on April 22, 2019 and Muslikhah was taken to the hospital. She had a bruise on her forehead and arm from the abuse.
She remained unemployed for about seven months till she found a new employer.
When the authorities first began investigating Tan, she denied committing the offences.
Previous maids had no issues with tan: lawyer
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu asked for 12 to 15 weeks’ jail and the compensation order that was imposed.
Tan’s lawyer, Genesa Tan from Tembusu Law, told the court that her client had employed maids for over a decade and they never had any issues with her. One of them had offered to write a testimonial attesting to Tan’s good treatment of her.
The lawyer also pointed out that Muslikhah had told her maid agency — just before Tan abused her — that she was satisfied with her work conditions.
“I don’t believe my client is able to fully explain why she did what she did, except that it was impulsive acts and she is remorseful. She is in her third trimester — prison would cause hardship and it’s likely she has to give birth there,” added Tan, who asked for the maximum S$7,500 fine or probation.
Tan, who addressed the court in tears, said: “I just want to let you know that I know I’m wrong and my family needs me, and I don’t wish to give birth in prison and be separated from my children.”
In sentencing, District Judge Shaifuddin ruled that a fine or probation was “wholly inappropriate” as there was “some form of psychological harm”, although no broader pattern of abuse. Tan began serving her sentence immediately.
For voluntarily causing hurt, she could have been jailed for up to two years or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with both. If the crimes involve a domestic worker, offenders may receive one-and-a-half times the maximum punishment. — TODAY
