SINGAPORE: A domestic worker was jailed for eight weeks on Friday (Jul 29) after slapping and using a cup to hit the head of a 101-year-old woman.
Ngaisah, 48, pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the elderly woman whom she had been looking after for five years.
The victim suffered from dementia and could not recognise her family members nor communicate with them.
She was dependent on Ngaisah, who goes by one name, to meet her daily needs. The two lived together in a flat in Lorong Ah Soo.
On Apr 26, the victim’s family installed a closed-circuit television camera in the living room of the flat to monitor them.
A family member viewed the footage later that day and lodged a police report after seeing how the elderly woman was treated.
The footage, which was played in court, showed that at about 6pm on Apr 26, the Indonesian maid was feeding the victim as they sat next to each other on the living room sofa.
While feeding her, Ngaisah held the victim close, slapped her cheek once and then let go of her. The victim was seen holding and rubbing her cheek due to the pain.
Ngaisah continued to forcefully feed the victim. About half an hour later, she helped the woman to take her medication and drink water from a plastic cup.
When the water was finished, CCTV footage showed Ngaisah hitting the victim’s head once with the cup. The victim was seen rubbing her forehead.
After the offences were discovered, the victim was taken to the hospital, and no obvious injuries were found on her.
The elderly woman was unable to tell medical staff what had happened to her. She was admitted and discharged a week later.
The victim’s ability to protect herself from abuse was impaired by her dementia, making her a vulnerable person. Ngaisah knew this and was hence liable for enhanced punishment, said the prosecution.
The prosecutor asked for 10 to 12 weeks’ jail, highlighting Ngaisah’s “blatant” abuse of trust and authority, as the family depended on her to look after the elderly woman.
She argued that such abuse was difficult to detect given the victim’s dementia and minimally communicative state, and would not have been discovered if not for the CCTV.
Ngaisah, who was not represented, told the judge that she was sorry for her mistakes and asked for leniency as she has family back home.
The punishment for voluntarily causing hurt is up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both. If the offender knew the victim was a vulnerable person, the maximum sentence is doubled.
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