There are plenty of heartwarming stories of employers caring for their helpers and vice versa. Unfortunately, so too are cases of helpers suffering severe mistreatment.
35-year-old nurse Zhao Lin pleaded guilty to such a crime in the State Courts on Monday (4 Apr).
She admitted to four counts of voluntarily assaulting her helper and one count of mischief for destroying her phone.
Four other related charges will also be taken into consideration during the ongoing trial.
Zhao, who worked as a nurse at the time of the incidents, will return to court next month. She will then be sentenced for the crimes she has been convicted of.
TODAY reports that on 4 Apr, Zhao admitted to repeatedly assaulting her Myanmarese helper, Ma Ei, and cutting her monthly salary.
Ms Ma Ei had been working for Zhao’s family since Feb 2016. In 2017, Zhao started reducing Ms Ma Ei’s S$500 salary by S$100 or S$200 a month.
The deduction was attributed to “mistakes” the helper would make during her employment under Zhao, such as damaging items or scratching Zhao’s son’s cupboard.
The deducted salary amount was eventually returned to the helper in January 2019 after a full investigation by the Ministry of Manpower.
The abuse started in mid-2017 and escalated the following year. Zhao would allegedly slap Ms Ma Ei repeatedly for perceived infractions such as unsatisfactory work or attitude.
Earlier in 2016, Zhao swapped her helper’s phone with one that the latter couldn’t use to contact her friends and family. Zhao claimed that this would help Ms Ma Ei focus on her work better.
Two years later, Ms Ma Ei bought a new phone to call her family in Myanmar, but Zhao destroyed it.
According to The Straits Times (ST), a police report was filed in Aug 2018 by Ms Ma Ei after an altercation between her and her employer.
Surveillance footage shows Zhao slapping the helper 10 times on 25 Aug 2018 for not storing away her son’s toys properly.
The slaps were so hard that they could reportedly be heard in the clip that was shown in court. Ms Ma Ei also staggered backwards with each smack.
Zhao allegedly threatened Ms Ma Ei as well, stating, “I will do it until you are really, really scared.”
Later that day, Zhao once again assaulted her helper, hitting and kicking her multiple times. The incident occurred in front of her son, who asked his mother why she was doing that.
Zhao replied, “Sister (the maid) did wrong, sister hit mum.”
At 5.15pm, Ms Ma Ei called the police, after which Zhao resumed her assault.
Police arriving on the scene requested for surveillance footage, but Zhao did not cooperate. Her husband later assisted with the investigation, and memory cards from their home’s CCTV cameras were seized.
Ms Ma Ei was sent to the hospital, where she was found with bruises and abrasions on her body.
Each count of voluntarily causing hurt carries a jail sentence of up to two years and a fine of up to S$5,000. Employers who commit this offence against a domestic helper will receive one-and-a-half times the maximum punishment.
Zhao’s additional count of mischief could also cause her to be jailed for up to one year, fined, or both.
With four counts of voluntarily causing hurt and one count of mischief, Zhao could be sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Crimes committed against domestic helpers are often severe, displaying the uglier side of human nature.
It is heartbreaking to see these workers treated so poorly when we should support them as much as we can.
Zhao will be back in court for sentencing in May. Hopefully, she will repent of her actions. And hopefully, this case will remind employers not to abuse their helpers, lest they be dealt with by the law.
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Featured image adapted from MS News.
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