SINGAPORE: A maid in charge of caring for an elderly bedridden woman abused her for about seven months, hitting her in the face with an alarm clock, pulling her hair and slapping her mouth.
When caught, she admitted to venting her anger on the victim due to the stress and frustration from her employer - the victim's daughter - scolding her.
Myanmar national Aye Aye Naing, 39, was sentenced to 30 weeks' jail on Monday (Dec 6).
She pleaded guilty to three counts of voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable person, with another charge taken into consideration.
The court heard that Aye Aye Naing was hired by the victim's daughter, a 52-year-old woman, and stayed with her family in a flat in Yishun.
The victim, a 76-year-old woman, suffers from spinal problems and arthritis and was unable to protect herself from abuse.
On Jul 31 last year, Aye Aye Naing walked over to where the victim was lying on her bed and used a cushion to hit her on the face.
The victim slowly moved her hand to her mouth to protect herself, but Aye Aye Naing pressed down on the victim's nose and jabbed her face repeatedly. She also swatted away the victim's hand after she tried to protect her face.
On Aug 14, 2020, Aye Aye Naing set an alarm clock in the victim's room before shaking it over the victim's face and using it to strike the victim's mouth.
Four days later, she wheeled the victim into her room and pushed her from a sitting position into a lying one. After adjusting pillows under the victim's knees and placing a handkerchief on her shirt, Aye Aye Naing jabbed the victim's mouth before pressing down roughly on her lips.
Later that same morning, she pulled the victim's hair and pushed the back of her head while bringing her into a sitting position.
She also pressed the base of a water bottle three times on the victim's mouth, causing her pain.
The victim told her daughter that the maid had been hitting her. Her daughter confronted Aye Aye Naing, who said the victim had fallen.
The victim's daughter gave Aye Aye Naing the benefit of the doubt, but installed a closed-circuit television camera that captured the above offences.
The victim's daughter lodged a police report on Aug 21, 2020. She took the victim to the hospital the next day, where bruises were noted over her forehead, cheek, thigh and upper chest.
Aye Aye Naing said she had no issues with her employer, who provided her with sufficient food and a proper place to sleep. The victim also treated her very well and was nice to her, the court heard.
But the maid became stressed and frustrated because the victim's daughter scolded her for not doing things in a proper manner. She then took out her anger on the victim by treating her roughly and hurting her.
She admitted to handling the victim in a rough fashion for about six to seven months, roughly pulling her by her hair to make her sit and slapping her mouth. She also pulled her by her neck from her wheelchair to the bed.
During investigations, the victim said she was happy to have been assisted by Aye Aye Naing, and happy to have her around.
Aye Aye Naing was seen by a psychiatrist who said she had an adjustment disorder secondary to her ongoing court case.
The prosecutor sought eight to 12 months' jail, noting the period of abuse. The defence said the maid had a good relationship with the victim, who was a grandmotherly figure to her.
Aye Aye Naing had a wide span of caretaking duties for the victim, as well as other chores in a household with six people, said the defence lawyer.
She is very sorry about the matter and the offences were more akin to episodes of outbursts, he added.
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When caught, she admitted to venting her anger on the victim due to the stress and frustration from her employer - the victim's daughter - scolding her.
Myanmar national Aye Aye Naing, 39, was sentenced to 30 weeks' jail on Monday (Dec 6).
She pleaded guilty to three counts of voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable person, with another charge taken into consideration.
The court heard that Aye Aye Naing was hired by the victim's daughter, a 52-year-old woman, and stayed with her family in a flat in Yishun.
The victim, a 76-year-old woman, suffers from spinal problems and arthritis and was unable to protect herself from abuse.
On Jul 31 last year, Aye Aye Naing walked over to where the victim was lying on her bed and used a cushion to hit her on the face.
The victim slowly moved her hand to her mouth to protect herself, but Aye Aye Naing pressed down on the victim's nose and jabbed her face repeatedly. She also swatted away the victim's hand after she tried to protect her face.
On Aug 14, 2020, Aye Aye Naing set an alarm clock in the victim's room before shaking it over the victim's face and using it to strike the victim's mouth.
Four days later, she wheeled the victim into her room and pushed her from a sitting position into a lying one. After adjusting pillows under the victim's knees and placing a handkerchief on her shirt, Aye Aye Naing jabbed the victim's mouth before pressing down roughly on her lips.
Later that same morning, she pulled the victim's hair and pushed the back of her head while bringing her into a sitting position.
She also pressed the base of a water bottle three times on the victim's mouth, causing her pain.
The victim told her daughter that the maid had been hitting her. Her daughter confronted Aye Aye Naing, who said the victim had fallen.
The victim's daughter gave Aye Aye Naing the benefit of the doubt, but installed a closed-circuit television camera that captured the above offences.
The victim's daughter lodged a police report on Aug 21, 2020. She took the victim to the hospital the next day, where bruises were noted over her forehead, cheek, thigh and upper chest.
Aye Aye Naing said she had no issues with her employer, who provided her with sufficient food and a proper place to sleep. The victim also treated her very well and was nice to her, the court heard.
But the maid became stressed and frustrated because the victim's daughter scolded her for not doing things in a proper manner. She then took out her anger on the victim by treating her roughly and hurting her.
She admitted to handling the victim in a rough fashion for about six to seven months, roughly pulling her by her hair to make her sit and slapping her mouth. She also pulled her by her neck from her wheelchair to the bed.
During investigations, the victim said she was happy to have been assisted by Aye Aye Naing, and happy to have her around.
Aye Aye Naing was seen by a psychiatrist who said she had an adjustment disorder secondary to her ongoing court case.
The prosecutor sought eight to 12 months' jail, noting the period of abuse. The defence said the maid had a good relationship with the victim, who was a grandmotherly figure to her.
Aye Aye Naing had a wide span of caretaking duties for the victim, as well as other chores in a household with six people, said the defence lawyer.
She is very sorry about the matter and the offences were more akin to episodes of outbursts, he added.
Continue reading...