SINGAPORE: A household worker was jailed for eight weeks on Friday (Jul 29) after slapping and using a mug to hit the head of a 101-year-old woman.
Ngaisah, forty eight, pleaded guilty in order to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the elderly woman whom she have been looking after for 5 years.
The particular victim suffered from dementia and could not recognize her family members nor communicate with them.
She was influenced by Ngaisah, who passes one name, to meet her daily needs. The two lived together in a flat within Lorong Ah Soo.
On Interest 26, the victim’s family installed a closed-circuit television camera in the living room of the flat to monitor them.
A family member viewed the footage afterwards that day plus lodged a police report after viewing how the elderly woman was treated.
The footage, which was played in courtroom, showed that around 6pm on Apr 26, the Indonesian maid was feeding the victim as they sat next to each other on the living room couch.
While giving her, Ngaisah kept the victim close, slapped her cheek once and then forget about her. The target was seen keeping and rubbing the girl cheek due to the discomfort.
Ngaisah continuing to forcefully give food to the victim. About half an hour later, the lady helped the woman to consider her medication and drink water from a plastic cup.
When the water has been finished, CCTV footage showed Ngaisah hitting the victim’s head as soon as with the cup. The particular victim was noticed rubbing her temple.
After the offences were discovered, the victim was delivered to the hospital, and no obvious injuries were available on her.
Seniors woman was unable to tell medical personnel what had happened to her. She was admitted and discharged a week later.
The victim’s ability to protect herself from abuse was reduced by her dementia, making her the vulnerable person. Ngaisah knew this plus was hence responsible for enhanced punishment, stated the prosecution.
The prosecutor asked for 10 to 12 weeks’ jail, highlighting Ngaisah’s “blatant” misuse of trust plus authority, as the family members depended on her to look after the elderly woman.
She argued that such abuse was difficult to detect provided the victim’s dementia and minimally communicative state, and may not have been discovered if not for the CCTV.
Ngaisah, who was not represented, told the judge that she was sorry on her mistakes and requested leniency as she has family back home.
The punishment meant for voluntarily causing hurt is up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to S$5, 000 or even both. If the culprit knew the victim was a vulnerable person, the maximum sentence can be doubled.