Indonesian Helper In Singapore Bites Baby Girl’s Arm, Leaves Bruise
It’s common for busy parents in Singapore to entrust their young children to domestic helpers.
While most helpers are responsible and even form loving bonds with the kids under their care, some have shockingly resorted to abusive behaviour.
Recently, a 33-year-old Indonesian helper was sentenced to six months’ jail for one count of ill-treating a toddler.
She reportedly bit the girl’s forearm when the latter did not go to sleep, causing a bruise.
Helper bites arm of toddler who did not go to sleep
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the helper, Masita Khoridaturochmah, began working for the baby’s mother in 2021.
Besides household chores, her responsibilities included looking after her employer’s young twin daughters.
On 26 May last year, the mother went to pick up her older child from preschool, leaving Masita at home with the 14-month-old toddlers.
The helper then tried to get them to sleep. However, one of the toddlers was still awake even after half an hour.
This frustrated Masita, and at around 6.30pm — she bit the girl on her left forearm, causing a bruise.
Victim’s mother spots bruise, but helper denies biting child
About half an hour later, the babies’ mother returned home.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that she noticed a bite mark-shaped bruise on the victim’s arm while preparing her for bed.
She confronted Masita, who denied biting the child.
Unconvinced, the mother persisted with her line of questioning. Masita eventually came clean and went down on her knees, apologising.
After reporting the incident to the police, the mother took the victim to a doctor, who found teeth marks and a bruise on the girl’s left forearm.
The bruise, Shin Min Daily News reported, was about 4cm long and 3.5cm wide. Fortunately, there wasn’t any bleeding or a wound.
Helper sentenced to 6 months’ jail
In court on Tuesday (4 Apr), Masita was sentenced to six months in prison for one count of ill-treating the toddler.
The prosecution asked for eight to nine months’ jail for Masita, pointing out that the victim was unable to inform anyone about the incident due to her young age.
What’s more, the helper had targeted a vulnerable victim and abused her position of trust.
On the other hand, the defence argued for two months’ jail instead.
He explained that his client deeply regretted this one-off incident and that she had only inflicted a “superficial injury” on the victim.
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Featured image adapted from Karolina Grabowska on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
