A 51-year-old Singaporean woman who slapped her maid with so much force that the victim had suffered temporary hearing loss in 2017 was sent to jail for seven months on Wednesday (April 14).
In line with this case, the court ordered Gayathri Iyer, a Singaporean housewife, to pay $5,333.96 in damages to the 30-year-old victim, whom she also hit on the back and shoulder on a separate occasion.
Employer Jailed for Slapping Maid, Causing Temporary Hearing Loss
Earlier, Gayathri had already been convicted of these two assault charges after a 13-day trial. She was, however, acquitted of two other charges of causing hurt involving slapping the same helper’s face and hitting her back with a frying pan, Yahoo! News Singapore reported.
The slapping incident took place on 7 December 2017 at Gayathri’s seventh floor apartment at Pebble Bay condominium along Tanjong Rhu Road. The incident involving hitting the maid’s shoulder and back happened on 27 October 2017.
A hearing test conducted on the victim in December 2017 found that she had pain and minimal hearing in the left ear accompanied by occasional giddiness and ringing in the ears. A follow-up test the next month revealed that her hearing had improved.
But in June 2018, she visited a doctor as she had giddiness almost daily. A final hearing test three months later found that she had normal hearing.
The prosecution also revealed that the victim “would buy dry food such as biscuits and noodles for consumption during the week ahead on Sundays” as Gayathri’s family did not provide her with sufficient food.
The victim also confided to two of her compatriots that she had been abused. They also testified that they saw a big bump on the victim’s head. This was allegedly due to the culprit having thrown a high-heeled shoe at the victim.
Despite the ongoing incidents, the victim said that she was worried that the abuse would worsen if she were to report the matter to the police.
The punishment for causing hurt is a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
However, if the victim is a domestic maid and the offender is her employer or a member of the employer’s household, the maximum punishment is up to three years’ jail and a fine of up to $7,500.
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