The wife of a Singapore police officer has admitted that she starved, tortured and eventually killed her domestic worker from Myanmar.
The worker allegedly weighed only 24 kg when she succumbed to her injuries in 2016.
Prosecutors called Gaiyathiri Murugayan’s actions ‘evil and completely inhuman’.
This is the last few years a series of cases of abuse of servants in the rich city.
Law groups have expressed concern about the treatment of foreign domestic workers, many of whom are from neighboring countries in Asia.
Tuesday it me. Murugayan, 40, pleaded guilty in a Singapore court to 28 charges, including culpable homicide against Piang Ngaih Don. If convicted, she could face life in prison.
‘Throw her like a rag’
The court heard that Ms Piang started working for her Murugayan in 2015 in her first job abroad.
Me. Murugayan began abusing her from October 2015 after she claimed that Piang “ate slowly, unhygienically and too much”, according to local media reports citing court proceedings.
CCTV footage of cameras installed in the home showed the abuse she suffered in the last month of her life and was often assaulted several times a day. Mrs Murugayan also allegedly burned her with a heated clothesline and accused her of “throwing her around like a rag”.
The court heard that Ms. Piang’s meals often consist of sliced bread soaked in water, cold food from the fridge or rice. She lost 15 kg (about 38% of her body weight) within 14 months.
The 24-year-old helper died in July 2016 after being repeatedly assaulted over several hours by Ms Murugayan and her mother. An autopsy report later found that Piang had died of oxygen deficiency in her brain after being repeatedly suffocated.
Prosecutors called for a life sentence for Ms Murugayan, while defense lawyers called for a reduced sentence, arguing that she was suffering from depression at the time and that she had been diagnosed with an obsessive compulsive personality disorder.
Her husband, police officer Kelvin Chelvam, and her mother are also facing various charges. Local media reports state that Mr. Chelvam was suspended from the police in 2016.
Josephine Teo, Minister of Manpower in Singapore, said on Wednesday that the situation of Ms. Piang was not spotted despite the frequent doctor visits and check-ups by her service agency.
In one case, the doctor saw bruises, but me. Murugayan claimed the victim fell frequently.
Ms Teo called the case “appalling” and said that in recent years several precautions had been taken to protect foreign domestic workers.
She later told reporters that her ministry was reviewing how doctors report medical examinations, adding that they have a duty to report to the police if they detect signs of abuse.
Singapore is home to about 250,000 foreign domestic workers, usually from countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar or the Philippines.
Abuse is not uncommon. In 2017, a couple was jailed for starving their domestic helpers from the Philippines. In 2019, another couple was jailed for abusing a worker from Myanmar.
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