Woman jailed 9 months for repeatedly abusing Indonesian maid
Photo: The Straits Times
Monday, Feb 22, 2016
SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old woman was sentenced to nine-months jail today for repeatedly abusing an Indonesian maid.
According to reports, Madam Nuraini Hassan had hit the maid, Ms Yulianti, no less than six times in one month in 2012.
On one occasion, Ms Yuliani was punched and slapped violently for eating four extra slices of bread, even after she offered to pay for it.
Unable to take any more abuse, she decided to escape from the third-floor Punggol flat on Aug 7, 2012 while her employers were taking an afternoon nap by climbing out from the service balcony window. She suffered injuries to her head and body in the escape attempt.
Ms Yulianti had started working for Madam Nuraini in January 2012. Her duties included doing household chores and taking care of her employer's two-year-old daughter.
According to Lianhe Wanbao, on July 23 that year, the maid ate some noodles that had been prepared by Madam Nuraini, not realising that it was meant for her break fast meal the following morning. When Madam Nuraini saw that the noodles had been eaten, she did not prepare any more food for her for the day.
As it was the fasting month, Ms Yulianti was hungry and ate four slices of bread at about 5am the next day.
Worried that her employer would be angry, she later admitted to taking the bread and offered to pay for it. But Madam Nuraini lashed out in fury, punching and kicking the maid in the abdomen.
In another incident on Aug 7, Madam Nuraini again lashed out and kicked her to the ground because the maid had been washing her clothes together with the family's, in spite of earlier instructions not to do so.
According to previous reports, Ms Yulianti lost 20kg while working for Madam Nuraini.
Madam Nuraini's husband, Muhamad Al-Hafiz Nordin, had also pleaded guilty to three charges of maid abuse last year and has completed his four-week jail sentence.
The couple has since paid compensation of $5,000 to Ms Yulianti, who has since forgiven Madam Nuraini.
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