In their submissions, the defence team argued that Tan had no criminal record, was generally of good character and had treated her domestic helpers well.
They also submitted character references by about 30 people including Tan’s friends, former domestic helpers and other individuals who had witnessed Tan’s interactions with her maids. The references generally vouched for Tan’s good character and how she had treated her household staff well.
In her oral remarks, District Judge Salina said that the protection of domestic helpers from abuse “is always a matter of public interest”.
This was due to their vulnerable status and the prevalence of employer and domestic helper relationships in Singapore.
Stressing that all domestic helpers must be “treated fairly with dignity and respect”, the judge said that a custodial sentence was “almost invariably warranted” in cases that involve physical abuse.
District Judge Salina said she agreed with the prosecution’s position that there was physical and psychological harm inflicted on the two victims.
For example, with respect to Ms Lozares, the judge found there was psychological harm in view of the “sustained pattern of abuse”.
The judge cited how although Ms Vegafria had worked for Tan for about three months, she was physically abused on at least five occasions.
District Judge Salina said the helper was afraid of reporting the abuse to authorities as she feared being sent home to the Philippines and blacklisted from working here.
The judge further agreed with the prosecution’s position that the working conditions for both victims were “oppressive and exploitative”. She cited examples of how Tan had imposed long working hours, docked salaries when she was not satisfied with their work, and did not give the victims enough time to eat, among others.
Tan was handed jail terms of between three months to six months for each charge with two of the sentences to be served consecutively, adding up to a total jail term of 10 months.
Tan will also have to compensate Ms Lozares and Ms Vegafria with S$2,500 and S$5,100 respectively, in line with what the prosecution sought.
Anyone found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt can be punished with a jail term of up to three years, or fined up to S$5,000, or both.
In cases where the offences involve a domestic worker, the court may sentence the accused to one-and-a-half times the amount of punishment to which he would otherwise have been liable for that offence.
This story was originally published in TODAY.