Maid jailed for extortion

[Sun Wukong]

May 17, 2010
Maid jailed for extortion

By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent

AN INDONESIAN maid who threatened to kill her employer's eight-month-old son was given the minimum two years' jail on Monday for extortion. Nurhasanah, 29, admitted to putting her employer in fear of death of her son at the Jurong West Street 42 home on Nov 10 last year.She had pressed a pair of scissors against the child and threatened to kill the baby if her 34-year-old employer refused to send her home immediately.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Edmund Lam said Nurhasanah, who started working for the family in July last year, had asked to be sent home three times before the incident as she missed her home and her children. That evening, the DPP said the employer was doing some household chores when Nurhasanah pressed the pair of kitchen scissors against the back of the infant she was carrying and made the threat. Nurhasanah took her employer's jacket to cover her hand and conceal the scissors that was held against the baby's body before the two women and child left for the airport by cab.

There she disposed of the scissors but continued to use the jacket to cover the child.It was only after the ticket had been bought and the maid had entered the controlled immigration area that she handed over the child to her employer in exchange for her passport. The employer alerted a Certis Cisco officer before getting a Garuda Airline counter staff who stopped the maid from boarding the flight. Nurhasanah could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

 

[scroobal]

Something is wrong with our law. I do not understand how this case ended up in the courts and passed the Police superiors and amazingly the judge.

The maid did not ask for money, jewellery or something expensive. She was homesick and desperate to go home. Why hold on to someone who does not want to work. Its akin to slavery. Holding the kid was clearly done in desperation.

There are many maids each year that do not want to work and homesickness is not a rare event. Furthermore she has got kids. Most employees do the right thing and seek recourse from the agency. The maids in such a situation are also losers as they still have to pay off the debt to the agency even when she returns home.

I hope some kind hearted lawyer can appeal on her behalf. 2 years is crazy.

 

[Sun Wukong]

May 18, 2010
Maid jailed for extortion

She got employer to take her to airport and buy her ticket home by pressing scissors into baby's back

<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong
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Nurhasanah returned the baby at the airport in exchange for her passport. The employer managed to stop her from boarding the plane.

MISSING her children and home, a domestic worker asked her employer if she could go back to Indonesia. When Nurhasanah was told to wait, she took the matter into her own hands. Pressing a pair of scissors into the back of her employer's eight-month-old son, she threatened to kill him if she was not taken to the airport and bought a ticket to fly home. Yesterday, the 29-year-old was jailed for two years after admitting to extortion by intentionally causing hurt to her employer's son in November last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Edmund Lam told the court that the incident occurred about four months into her job. Before that, she had asked her employer a few times to send her back as she missed home and her children, but her employer said she needed some time to accede to her request.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[jw5]

Something is wrong with our law. I do not understand how this case ended up in the courts and passed the Police superiors and amazingly the judge.

The maid did not ask for money, jewellery or something expensive. She was homesick and desperate to go home. Why hold on to someone who does not want to work. Its akin to slavery. Holding the kid was clearly done in desperation.

There are many maids each year that do not want to work and homesickness is not a rare event. Furthermore she has got kids. Most employees do the right thing and seek recourse from the agency. The maids in such a situation are also losers as they still have to pay off the debt to the agency even when she returns home.

I hope some kind hearted lawyer can appeal on her behalf. 2 years is crazy.

Very surprised by your comment.
You have spoken up for maids in the past, and by and large, I have agreed with your observations.
But there is no justification for holding a scissors to another person, especially a child.
Homesickness is certainly not a justification, not even a mitigation.
If she had run away or went to her agency and had been punished, my sympathies would have been totally with the maid.
The only justification for holding a sharp object to another person, is if your own life is in danger.

 

[scroobal]

This is where the interpretation of intention comes into play. Note that she had abandoned the scissors and was in no position to carry out her threat. A half decent lawyer would have mitigated for her. 2 years is just too harsh.

I am also surprised with the half wit of an employer. She placed her own child in danger by her act of holding on to the maid over money paid to the agency. Once I know that a maid is not comfortable, I would let her go lest she turns crazy in my home.


I hope the employer realises her folly when she loses her right to engage another maid.

Very surprised by your comment.
You have spoken up for maids in the past, and by and large, I have agreed with your observations.
But there is no justification for holding a scissors to another person, especially a child.
Homesickness is certainly not a justification, not even a mitigation.
If she had run away or went to her agency and had been punished, my sympathies would have been totally with the maid.
The only justification for holding a sharp object to another person, is if your own life is in danger.

 

[saratogas]

Employment agency should have make sure that she is physically n mentally ready for a two year maid job before bring her into Singapore. Homesick and desperate to go home cannot be an excuse! Consulting and assessment should be done before she start work.

Irresponsible agency.

 

[scroobal]

Agree. The employment agencies has to fulfill its responsibility of providing a maid for 2 years. Most do it and they will provide replacement if the one assigned is not suitable or wants to go home. This lady must have brought in own maid or went to bad agency. Truly an irresponsible parent where a child is concerned.

Employment agency should have make sure that she is physically n mentally ready for a two year maid job before bring her into Singapore. Homesick and desperate to go home cannot be an excuse! Consulting and assessment should be done before she start work.

Irresponsible agency.