Back in 2020, Ummi Kalsum Ali punched her helper repeatedly until she lost vision in one eye. She then prevented her from receiving medical treatment, causing the severity of her injuries to escalate.
On Monday (25 Oct), Ummi pleaded guilty to six charges at the state courts.
The charges included voluntarily causing grievous hurt, ill-treating her by refusing her medical attention, and failing to pay her on time.
She was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and received a S$4,500 fine, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the victim, 51-year-old Sugiyem Samad Radimah, began working for Ummi on 5 Aug 2019.
Ummi confiscated her handphone and installed CCTV cameras in the kitchen to monitor her. The abuse then started in Apr 2020, taking place over six months.
On Apr 2020, Ummi slapped Sugiyem on her face and ears repeatedly and punched her ears to express her displeasure with her.
She also punched her eyes, continuing her assault even when Sugiyem tried to shield herself.
One of the blows caused her to lose vision in her right eye, and she fell to the ground shortly after. However, Ummi ignored this, proceeding to punch her eyes and yanking her up by her ponytail.
She additionally hit her with a handphone, slamming her eye with a hanger as well. The force of the blow caused the hanger to break and Ummi then stopped her assault.
Following the incident, Sugiyem’s left ear became swollen and deformed. Even after witnessing her injuries, Ummi did not take her to seek medical assistance.
A few days later, Sugiyem informed Ummi she could not see out of one eye and asked to see a doctor. However, she refused to allow her to do so, threatening Sugiyem that she would not be able to return if she vacated the premises.
Sugiyem then requested Ummi to accompany her to the doctor, but this was denied as well.
Between Apr and Sep 2020, Ummi’s assaults on her helper continued. Even though Sugiyem had lost vision in one eye, her abuse did not stop.
Eventually, the helper became completely blind in both eyes as well.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that the situation had escalated to a point where Sugiyem had to feel her way around by touching the floor and walls of the house. She did so while carrying on with the household chores.
At one point, Sugiyem’s lack of vision caused her to accidentally burn Ummi’s clothes. In response, Ummi pressed the hot iron on her.
The court also showed CCTV footage where Sugiyem staggered around slowly and bent over, reaching out to move through the house.
Several other clips depicted Ummi’s husband shouting at her when she accidentally touched him during a cleaning stint. He is currently not facing any charges.
CNA additionally reports that Ummi did not pay her helper’s salary of S$670 on time between Jan and Sep 2020.
On 23 Oct of that year, Ummi abandoned her in a wheelchair at the airport with staff on the premises after giving her about S$6,750 in Singapore dollars and Indonesian rupiah. Sugiyem was to subsequently find her own way home.
Upon returning to her hometown, the abuse was revealed and authorities flew her back to Singapore to assist with ongoing investigations.
Sugiyem weighed 76kg during her pre-employment medical check-up in July 2019. Nearly two years later in February 2021, she weighed just 52.8kg.
Although she eventually received medical attention in Singapore, her blindness was irreversible.
As the judge meted out the 10-year jail sentenceand fine, he called Ummi’s actions “most aggravating” and bordering on torture.
He also said she did not seem to show much remorse for her actions, even instructing her lawyer to argue that the victim may not have been completely blind.
This argument went against medical records and video evidence.
However, he granted Ummi’s request to defer her sentence until 8 Nov to settle childcare arrangements as well as other issues.
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Featured image by MS News.
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