SINGAPORE: A police officer was sentenced to 10 years' jail on Thursday (Jul 17) for his role in the fatal abuse of a young maid from Myanmar by his ex-wife and former mother-in-law.
Staff Sergeant Kevin Chelvam, who has been suspended from the Singapore Police Force, was earlier convicted at trial in the case involving Ms Piang Ngaih Don, who died on Jul 26, 2016 after months of physical abuse.
The 24-year-old victim died of brain injury with severe blunt trauma to her neck, and weighed just 24kg at the time of her death.
Chelvam, 46, was convicted on a total of four charges.
He was found guilty of one count of voluntarily causing hurt by grabbing the maid's hair and lifting her body off the ground, and one count of abetting his then wife Gaiyathiri Murugayan to voluntarily cause grievous hurt by starving her.
He was also convicted of one count of giving false information to a police officer handling the case, and one count of causing evidence to disappear by dismantling a closed-circuit television (CCTV) recorder installed in his flat.
The prosecution urged District Judge Teoh Ai Lin to jail Chelvam for 11 to 12 years. The defence asked the judge for compassion and said Chelvam was leaving the sentence in the court's hands.
Judge Teoh noted that Chelvam knew the maid was not being given enough to eat in the 35 days before her death. "He had time and opportunity to stop the abuse but he did not," she said.
"He was her legal employer who was to ensure a safe working environment for her, and should and could have stopped the abuse," she later added.
On Chelvam's removal of evidence, the judge said: "If the CCTV recorder had not been recovered, Don would have taken with her to the grave the whole truth of what she had endured in the final days of her tragic life."
Chelvam's ex-wife Gaiyathiri and her mother, Prema S Naraynasamy, are currently serving 30 years and 17 years in jail respectively for their roles in the case.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh said Chelvam was complicit in the abuse, arguing against the defence's position that he had no active participation in or control over the abuse dealt out by his then-wife and mother-in-law.
Referring to the judge's findings at trial, Mr Teh said that Chelvam stood by during the abuse, that he knew Gayathiri and Prema repeatedly and regularly abused the maid, and that he knew she was in a weakened and tired state.
As Ms Piang Ngaih Don's legal employer, he had "every opportunity" to stop the abuse but did not, said the prosecutor.
Chelvam even "actively endorsed" the withholding of food from Ms Piang Ngaih Don as punishment. Her severe malnourishment contributed to her inability to withstand the assaults to her neck, which led to her death, said Mr Teh.
As a police officer, Chelvam was also fully aware of the significant evidence held in the CCTV recorder that he removed, said the prosecutor.
This recorder was eventually recovered. All the abuse charges against the three offenders, including Gayathiri's offence of culpable homicide, stemmed from the footage, said Mr Teh.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Pratap Kishan said that his client had "lost nine years of his life" while the case was ongoing.
Chelvam was not in remand and was "out and about" during that period but "his life has come to a standstill", said Mr Kishan.
The lawyer also pointed to a character reference the suspended cop received from the Traffic Police, which said that he was a positive worker and an asset to the unit during his service.
Chelvam lived with Gaiyathiri and their two children – then aged four and one – in a three-bedroom flat in Bishan. Two tenants lived in one of the bedrooms, said the prosecution.
Prema had her own home but would often stay over to help cook and take care of the children. When she stayed over, she would share a room with Ms Piang Ngaih Don, who slept on the floor.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don began working for Chelvam's family on a two-year contract in late May 2015. It was her first time working outside of Myanmar.
Although Chelvam was her registered employer, Gaiyathiri was the one responsible for supervising her and for her welfare on a daily basis.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don agreed to Gaiyathiri's conditions of employment, which were that she should not have a handphone or any off days, with the understanding that Gaiyathiri would pay her more and let her rest at home.
Chelvam signed the employment contract, agreeing to provide the maid with at least three adequate meals a day, among other terms.
At the beginning, when Gaiyathiri was upset with Ms Piang Ngaih Don, she would shout at her and scold her. This escalated to physical abuse by Gaiyathiri from October 2015.
Around May 2016, Prema became aware of the physical abuse by Gaiyathiri and started physically abusing Ms Piang Ngaih Don too.
The maid was not given adequate food and rest by Gaiyathiri and was only allowed to sleep for about five hours a night.
Prema was aware of this and had noticed that Ms Piang Ngaih Don was losing a lot of weight.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don also had to shower and relieve herself with the toilet door open while Gaiyathiri or Prema watched.
She wore multiple layers of face masks as she went about her work in the house as Gaiyathiri found her "unhygienic" and did not want to look at her face.
For 11 consecutive nights from Jul 15, 2016, Gaiyathiri used a string to tie one of Ms Piang Ngaih Don's hands to a window grille in her bedroom while she slept on the floor.
This was purportedly to prevent her from leaving the room at night.
A CCTV system was installed in the flat, with cameras placed in various parts of the unit, to monitor Ms Piang Ngaih Don and the children. During investigations, police seized 35 days' worth of footage from Jun 21, 2016 to Jul 26, 2016.
The footage captured the abuse and ill-treatment that Ms Piang Ngaih Don suffered in the days leading to her death.
It showed that Prema stayed over at the house on at least seven out of the 11 nights.
It also showed that, on numerous occasions, Chelvam was at home while the victim was being berated and beaten and that this often took place right in front of him.
Video clips of footage played in court showed five incidents of Chelvam standing by in the kitchen while Ms Piang Ngaih Don was being assaulted by Gaiyathiri inside the toilet or in the kitchen.
After Ms Piang Ngaih Don died, Chelvam attempted to thwart investigations by preventing the police from obtaining crucial footage by disconnecting the CCTV system's recorder and lying about its whereabouts.
Chelvam lied to the police that the recorder had been removed six months earlier at a tenant's request as they were "uncomfortable" with it.
While he was at the house with the police on the day Ms Piang Ngaih Don's death was discovered, Chelvam also pretended to search the house for the recorder, before claiming he was not able to find it.
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Staff Sergeant Kevin Chelvam, who has been suspended from the Singapore Police Force, was earlier convicted at trial in the case involving Ms Piang Ngaih Don, who died on Jul 26, 2016 after months of physical abuse.
The 24-year-old victim died of brain injury with severe blunt trauma to her neck, and weighed just 24kg at the time of her death.
Chelvam, 46, was convicted on a total of four charges.
He was found guilty of one count of voluntarily causing hurt by grabbing the maid's hair and lifting her body off the ground, and one count of abetting his then wife Gaiyathiri Murugayan to voluntarily cause grievous hurt by starving her.
He was also convicted of one count of giving false information to a police officer handling the case, and one count of causing evidence to disappear by dismantling a closed-circuit television (CCTV) recorder installed in his flat.
The prosecution urged District Judge Teoh Ai Lin to jail Chelvam for 11 to 12 years. The defence asked the judge for compassion and said Chelvam was leaving the sentence in the court's hands.
Judge Teoh noted that Chelvam knew the maid was not being given enough to eat in the 35 days before her death. "He had time and opportunity to stop the abuse but he did not," she said.
"He was her legal employer who was to ensure a safe working environment for her, and should and could have stopped the abuse," she later added.
On Chelvam's removal of evidence, the judge said: "If the CCTV recorder had not been recovered, Don would have taken with her to the grave the whole truth of what she had endured in the final days of her tragic life."
Chelvam's ex-wife Gaiyathiri and her mother, Prema S Naraynasamy, are currently serving 30 years and 17 years in jail respectively for their roles in the case.
ARGUMENTS BY PROSECUTION AND DEFENCE
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh said Chelvam was complicit in the abuse, arguing against the defence's position that he had no active participation in or control over the abuse dealt out by his then-wife and mother-in-law.
Referring to the judge's findings at trial, Mr Teh said that Chelvam stood by during the abuse, that he knew Gayathiri and Prema repeatedly and regularly abused the maid, and that he knew she was in a weakened and tired state.
As Ms Piang Ngaih Don's legal employer, he had "every opportunity" to stop the abuse but did not, said the prosecutor.
Chelvam even "actively endorsed" the withholding of food from Ms Piang Ngaih Don as punishment. Her severe malnourishment contributed to her inability to withstand the assaults to her neck, which led to her death, said Mr Teh.
As a police officer, Chelvam was also fully aware of the significant evidence held in the CCTV recorder that he removed, said the prosecutor.
This recorder was eventually recovered. All the abuse charges against the three offenders, including Gayathiri's offence of culpable homicide, stemmed from the footage, said Mr Teh.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Pratap Kishan said that his client had "lost nine years of his life" while the case was ongoing.
Chelvam was not in remand and was "out and about" during that period but "his life has come to a standstill", said Mr Kishan.
The lawyer also pointed to a character reference the suspended cop received from the Traffic Police, which said that he was a positive worker and an asset to the unit during his service.
FATAL ABUSE
Chelvam lived with Gaiyathiri and their two children – then aged four and one – in a three-bedroom flat in Bishan. Two tenants lived in one of the bedrooms, said the prosecution.
Prema had her own home but would often stay over to help cook and take care of the children. When she stayed over, she would share a room with Ms Piang Ngaih Don, who slept on the floor.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don began working for Chelvam's family on a two-year contract in late May 2015. It was her first time working outside of Myanmar.
Although Chelvam was her registered employer, Gaiyathiri was the one responsible for supervising her and for her welfare on a daily basis.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don agreed to Gaiyathiri's conditions of employment, which were that she should not have a handphone or any off days, with the understanding that Gaiyathiri would pay her more and let her rest at home.
Chelvam signed the employment contract, agreeing to provide the maid with at least three adequate meals a day, among other terms.
At the beginning, when Gaiyathiri was upset with Ms Piang Ngaih Don, she would shout at her and scold her. This escalated to physical abuse by Gaiyathiri from October 2015.
Around May 2016, Prema became aware of the physical abuse by Gaiyathiri and started physically abusing Ms Piang Ngaih Don too.
The maid was not given adequate food and rest by Gaiyathiri and was only allowed to sleep for about five hours a night.
Prema was aware of this and had noticed that Ms Piang Ngaih Don was losing a lot of weight.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don also had to shower and relieve herself with the toilet door open while Gaiyathiri or Prema watched.
She wore multiple layers of face masks as she went about her work in the house as Gaiyathiri found her "unhygienic" and did not want to look at her face.
For 11 consecutive nights from Jul 15, 2016, Gaiyathiri used a string to tie one of Ms Piang Ngaih Don's hands to a window grille in her bedroom while she slept on the floor.
This was purportedly to prevent her from leaving the room at night.
REMOVAL OF EVIDENCE
A CCTV system was installed in the flat, with cameras placed in various parts of the unit, to monitor Ms Piang Ngaih Don and the children. During investigations, police seized 35 days' worth of footage from Jun 21, 2016 to Jul 26, 2016.
The footage captured the abuse and ill-treatment that Ms Piang Ngaih Don suffered in the days leading to her death.
It showed that Prema stayed over at the house on at least seven out of the 11 nights.
It also showed that, on numerous occasions, Chelvam was at home while the victim was being berated and beaten and that this often took place right in front of him.
Video clips of footage played in court showed five incidents of Chelvam standing by in the kitchen while Ms Piang Ngaih Don was being assaulted by Gaiyathiri inside the toilet or in the kitchen.
After Ms Piang Ngaih Don died, Chelvam attempted to thwart investigations by preventing the police from obtaining crucial footage by disconnecting the CCTV system's recorder and lying about its whereabouts.
Chelvam lied to the police that the recorder had been removed six months earlier at a tenant's request as they were "uncomfortable" with it.
While he was at the house with the police on the day Ms Piang Ngaih Don's death was discovered, Chelvam also pretended to search the house for the recorder, before claiming he was not able to find it.
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