Myanmar Helper Gets Life Imprisonment For Stabbing Elderly Woman To Death
Zin Mar Nwe, a domestic helper from Myanmar who was found guilty of murder in May, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday (4 July).
She had stabbed her employer’s 70-year-old mother-in-law to death following a dispute in 2018.
The judge rejected arguments from the defence that Zin Mar Nwe held diminished responsibility due to various factors.
Helper stabs employer’s mother-in-law after dispute
According to The Straits Times (ST), court documents show that Zin Mar Nwe was just 17 in 2018, although her passport showed she was 23. Her agent had apparently told her to fake her age.
She arrived in Singapore on 5 Jan 2018 and worked for two employers before being hired by the victim’s son-in-law on 10 May 2018.
The elderly woman stayed with Zin Mar Nwe’s employers for a month, having flown in from India to Singapore.
On 25 Jun 2018, there was a dispute between Zin Mar Nwe and the victim. The latter threatened to send her back to her agent the next day.
Fearful of the threat, Zin Mar Nwe took a knife and stabbed the victim 26 times.
She then retrieved her belongings after breaking a lock on a cupboard in the master bedroom.
Zim Mar Nwe got dressed and washed the knife before heading to her maid agency, where she asked for her passport.
However, she heard the agents saying they were about to call her employers and quickly left.
She wandered around Singapore for a few hours before returning to the agency, where police arrested her.
Helper gave fictitious accounts, claimed victim was abusive
Following her arrest, Zin Mar Nwe gave numerous fictitious accounts to the police.
One of her claims was that two men were responsible for murdering her employer’s mother-in-law. She eventually admitted to stabbing the woman.
In court, the helper tried to rely on the partial defence of diminished responsibility.
She said that at the time of the incident, she had mixed anxiety and depressive reaction or adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.
The defence brought psychiatrist Tommy Tan as an expert witness. He argued that Zin Mar Nwe was in a “dissociative state”, unable to remember or control her actions.
Zin Mar Nwe additionally claimed that the victim had been abusive. CNA reported that she had scalded her with a heated pan and hit her hand.
ST added that the victim would knock the helper on the head or back with her knuckles whenever the latter didn’t understand her instructions.
Judge rejects arguments of diminished responsibility
In his verdict, Justice Andre Maniam rejected the argument that Zin Mar Nwe, now 22, was in a dissociative state.
Instead, he went with the opinion of another doctor, Dr Alias Lijo, who said she did not have any mental illness at the time of the crime.
This was because she described the stabbing in detail. She was also lucid enough to take the actions she did after the crime.
He also rejected the argument that she had adjusted disorder, although he acknowledged on some occasions that the victim had hit Zin Mar Nwe to get her attention or reprimand her.
The victim also retaliated when the helper accidentally hurt her on some occasions.
But Zin Mar Nwe had not reported the treatment to her employers or anyone else.
“It seems that she was willing to tolerate such treatment, although she was hurt, sad, and felt unappreciated,” Justice Maniam noted.
She did, however, fear going back to Myanmar in debt. He said this caused her to stab the victim after the latter had threatened her.
Noting that Zin Mar Nwe “has failed to establish the defence of diminished responsibility”, the judge added, “That was the sole basis on which the accused resisted the charge of murder, the elements of which are established on the evidence.”
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