Woman abused daughter and maid, who climbed out of flat window to escape

After months of relentless abuse, a domestic helper decide to climb out her fifth-floor unit’s kitchen window, down a floor into her neighbour’s unit in order to escape her abuser.

The abuser, a 41-year-old Singaporean woman, had tried to choke the domestic helper with a towel, pushed her head into a wall, and also kicked her multiple times.

After the maid fled, the woman inflicted abuse on her own daughter, then nine, by pressing the metal tip of a hot lighter onto the girl’s forearm twice, causing blisters. This was after the girl did not follow her instructions to vacuum the room amid studying for her examinations.

The woman pleaded guilty on Friday (15 October) to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to her maid, and one count of ill-treating her daughter. Another count of assault, and of perverting the course of justice by instructing her daughter to lie to the police, will be considered for her sentencing.

She has been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) presented with psychotic symptoms, as well as obsessive compulsive disorder. She had experienced hallucinations telling her that the maid would harm her with a knife.

An Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist found that her condition had substantially contributed to the acts of offending as her MDD made her more irritable and less able to control her impulses. The psychiatrist assessed that her risk of reoffending was low if she continued treatment.

None of the parties can be named as the court has imposed a gag order on all their identities.