SINGAPORE: The matriarch of a family that abused an intellectually disabled woman they turned into their slave was sentenced to 17 years and 10 months’ jail on Tuesday (Jul 2).
Hasmah Sulong, 73, is the last of several family members to be sentenced in a case that dragged for years and almost went to trial. When her jail term was read out, a woman in the public gallery began sobbing.
The victim, who was 27 at the time of the abuse, initially sought refuge with Hasmah’s family after running away from home but was soon turned into the family’s slave after angering one of Hasmah’s daughters.
Over one-and-a-half years from mid-2016, the victim was tortured by Hasmah and her two daughters, Hasniza and Haslinda Ismail.
Haslinda alleged that the victim had made a sexual advance towards her husband.
The women fractured one of the victim’s toes, knocked out her teeth and splashed hot water on her.
Despite the victim suffering burn injuries, blisters and incontinence, the family did not get medical help for her, instead applying Dettol and cream on her wounds.
When Haslinda accused the victim of stealing, Hasmah chained her up. She also instructed one of her sons to affix a metal plate with a hook to a wall to secure her position.
The victim was in that position between eight and 12 hours daily and had to sweep and mop the house before she was allowed to eat breakfast.
She was also taken to Malaysia to clean a house there, where Haslinda splashed hot oil on her.
The victim was later moved and chained to the toilet bowl because she lost control of her bowels.
She began oozing dark liquid from her mouth and nose in January 2018 and a stench emanated from her body, with pus coming from her wounds.
She was finally taken to hospital via an ambulance in early 2018 in a dangerously ill state and was not expected to survive the next day, as she had pneumonia and sepsis from her wounds.
She was revived after eight hours of resuscitation in the Emergency Department and discharged more than three months after admission, but suffers permanent injuries to this day – including 10 missing teeth, permanent vision issues in her right eye and a deformed ear.
She was examined at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have mild intellectual disability that would have affected her ability to seek help.
LESS RESISTANCE TO TORTURE THAN A CHILD
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said the victim just “sat there” and allowed her toes to be twisted by the women.
“A child could have perhaps offered more resistance,” he said.
Mr Chong, along with fellow prosecutors Mr Han Ming Kuang and Ms Grace Chua, sought 17 to 19 years’ jail for Hasmah.
Hasmah pleaded guilty to five charges related to the abuse, with several others taken into consideration.
Defence lawyer Amarick Gill asked for 15 years instead, asking the court to consider his client’s age and plea of guilt.
He kept his mitigation brief and said the plea of guilt had spared the traumatised victim “what would have been a significant cross-examination”.
The plea has also saved the court time, as well as the time of the 49 prosecution witnesses who were set to testify.
The lawyer acknowledged the “horrors” descended on the victim by Hasmah and her family members and said he had not stated anything in his mitigation plea to slight the victim or even go into “whatever allegedly transpired to start this ruckus”.
“Hasmah apologises to the victim, both for what she has done, and also what her children have done,” said the lawyer.
He told the judge that her sentencing would bring closure to Hasmah, her family as well as the victim.
The prosecution did not seek a compensation order, saying Hasmah has been unemployed for some time and does not appear to have the financial means to make compensation.
Justice Valerie Thean said the offences were “really horrific”, with the family forcing the victim into servitude and leaving her with permanent and serious injuries.
“I have taken into account that the accused is 73. If not for her age, given the overall seriousness of this … I would have made more offences run consecutively, and the total sentence would be more than 20 years,” said Justice Thean.
She allowed Hasmah to see her family before being taken to jail.
Hasmah’s jail term is the longest of all her family members involved.
In 2021, Haslinda received eight-and-a-half years’ jail for her involvement, while Hasniza was given three years.
Their brothers, Muhammad Iskandar Ismail and Muhammad Iski Ismail, who had lesser roles in the abuse, received eight months and about three months’ jail respectively.
Haslinda’s husband was given three weeks’ jail in 2020 for slapping the victim’s face on his wife’s instruction.