SINGAPORE, Dec 17 — A property agent was sentenced yesterday to 12 weeks’ jail for attacking her maid, her own 81-year-old father when he tried to intervene, and then getting into her car and attempting to run over her brother.
Bibianna Lim Poh Suan, 47, was also fined S$800 (RM2,445.14) and banned from driving all classes of vehicles for a year.
She was found guilty earlier this month but had contested the charges.
Her lawyer Tan Hee Joek, who had sought a fine, told the court that she will be appealing against her conviction. She remains out on bail of S$10,000.
She initially denied slapping the helper, Theresa Elevencione Gamuzaran, several times on her face, which caused the maid to suffer from hearing loss.
However, Lim’s parents backed up Gamuzaran’s account and told the court that while they were trying to stop the assault, Lim bit her father’s arm, kicked him on the stomach and pushed him.
Lim then tried to drive off but her brother said that she then accelerated in his direction, forcing him to jump on the bonnet, injuring his knee in the process.
Claimed she did not touch the maid; parents rebutted this
Gamuzaran was hired to take care of Lim’s parents in February 2018, after working for Lim’s brother from 2005 to 2011.
The maid said that on the day of the assault, she was in the kitchen when Lim rushed into the flat, slapped her several times on the face and pushed her against the kitchen doorway.
Lim said that Gamuzaran had made false allegations against her about a week before the incident.
But Lim claimed that she did not touch the maid, a point rebutted by Lim’s own parents.
Lim’s mother testified that she saw her daughter slapping the maid more than once, while her father said he tried to intervene but his daughter bit him on the arm, kicked and pushed him.
Lim did not deny assaulting her father, but she said it was a reflex action and that she did not intend to harm him.
She admitted that she was “very angry that he’s taking side with the maid again”, Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong said.
Gamuzaran injured her knee as a result of the assault.
She also sustained mild low frequency hearing loss, a doctor said — meaning that her left ear could not detect sounds softer than 30 decibels, while her right ear could detect down to 15 decibels.
Laughed loudly
After the assault, Lim tried to leave in her car. Her brother said that he tried to open the car door to stop her but failed, then he went to the front of the vehicle.
But his sister stepped on the accelerator, so he jumped on the car bonnet to avoid getting hit. According to Lim’s brother, she then rolled down her window and laughed.
In her defence, Lim said that she feared for her life when she saw her brother charging towards her, thinking that he wanted to kill her. But she conceded during cross-examination that he did not say this. — TODAY
