- Illustrative photo.
SINGAPORE: A woman abused her domestic helper on eight separate occasions in 2023 and even threatened to make the Indonesian woman pay her S$2,000 if the victim reported the matter to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Norwahidah Johari started abusing Putri Rizki Amelia, 33, just five months after the offender’s husband employed the maid on March 13, 2023.
In her police report, the victim told officers that she had to sleep in the kitchen of her employer’s Bukit Batok Housing Board flat since the second day of her employment.
Putri added that Norwahidah had also verbally abused her by saying: “Poor, filthy woman.”
The 42-year-old Malaysian offender was sentenced to four weeks’ jail on Thursday (March 6) after she pleaded guilty to two counts of using criminal force on the victim and one count of assaulting her.
Five other counts of using criminal force on the maid were considered during her sentencing.
Details about her occupation were not disclosed in court documents.
Norwahidah, who is a Singapore permanent resident, started abusing the maid on Aug 9, 2023, when she threw a basket containing torn pieces of waste paper at Putri’s face.
She later committed other acts of abuse, including swinging a shoe towards the helper and throwing a bowl of flour at her.
Shortly after midnight on Sept 28, 2023, Norwahidah was in the kitchen when she asked Putri why a bottle of soya sauce was not placed in a nearby refrigerator.
Norwahidah then said that she had repeatedly reminded the maid to keep the condiment in the refrigerator, adding that the younger woman had not done so for about a month and a half.
Putri replied that Norwahidah had generally kept soya sauce on a kitchen table. The victim also said that the condiment bottle was too big to fit in the refrigerator.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai told the court: “The accused got angry at the victim. (She)...poured half the bottle of soya sauce over the head of the victim.
“The victim was upset and challenged the accused to finish pouring the bottle of soya sauce over her. The accused then continued pouring the whole bottle of soya sauce over the victim’s head.”
On another occasion, Norwahidah was having dinner at home some time in September 2023 when she asked Putri to prepare some chilli for her and remove the seeds.
The maid handed a bowl of chilli to the offender, who then rejected it, saying she could still see some seeds.
Norwahidah told Putri to clean the chilli again and the latter complied.
DPP Ng said: “The accused...told the victim that there were still seeds and got angry at the victim. The accused then took the bowl of cut chillies and threw it in the face of the victim.
“The cut chillies came into contact with the victim’s eyes and caused irritation to the victim that night.”
The acts of abuse escalated in early October 2023 when Norwahidah started assaulting the helper.
The court heard that the offender had earlier noticed that a couch in her flat reeked of urine after she came home from work.
She became frustrated as she had instructed Putri on previous occasions to place a rubber mat on the couch before her daughter, who was still wearing a nappy, rested on it.
Putri then told Norwahidah that the child’s nappy had overflowed earlier that day and soiled the couch. The helper also told Norwahidah that she had washed the couch, but the latter insisted that it still reeked of urine.
Putri was cleaning the couch again when Norwahidah said that it was “expensive” and that the victim could not afford it. Norwahidah then grabbed her maid’s left ear and twisted it.
Putri finally made a police report on Oct 9, 2023.
She also told officers that Norwahidah had threatened to make her fork out $2,000 if she reported to the MOM.
The abuser was later charged in court in 2024.
On March 6, defence lawyer Noelle Teoh urged the court to sentence her client to three weeks’ jail. She said Norwahidah regretted her actions and had acted out of character.
The offender’s bail has been set at $10,000 and she is expected to start serving her sentence on March 24. - The Straits Times/ANN
