SINGAPORE — A man in a landmark maid abuse case received more jail time on Monday (Aug 26) after a High Court judge granted the prosecution's appeals.

Justice Hoo Sheau Peng also reversed an acquittal of a charge for his wife, 43-year-old Chia Yun Ling, over the non-payment of Myanmar national Moe Moe Than's salary.

Former IT manager Tay Wee Kiat, 41, received six more months in prison so that his total jail sentence is two-and-a-half years for abusing 31-year-old Moe Moe Than.

Chia received three months' jail for not paying the domestic helper her salary. The term will run concurrently with her original sentence of three years and 11 months' jail and a fine of S$4,000.

The couple had been given separate sentences for their ill-treatment of another maid, Indonesian national Ms Fitriyah, whose employment overlapped with Ms Moe Moe Than's.

At the hands of the couple, Ms Moe Moe Than was caned, had rice and sugar forced down her throat through a funnel, asked to eat her own vomit and physically abused.

Tay also asked the two helpers to slap each other and pray before a Buddhist altar 100 times, even though Ms Moe Moe Than is a Christian and Ms Fitriyah, a Muslim.

EVIDENCE REGARDING SALARY NOT EVALUATED

Addressing first the prosecution's request to reverse the acquittal of the salary-related charge that Chia faced, which was handed out by District Judge Olivia Low, Justice Hoo said she agreed with the prosecution that the lower court judge was wrong in her assessment of evidence.

She said that District Judge Low did not evaluate the evidence or make any clear findings of Chia's version of events. Chia had claimed that she had paid Ms Moe Moe Than the salary she was owed in full.

However, Justice Hoo said that this was not believable, as Chia changed her position about the date she had paid the salary, and her reasons for the backdating were "contrived" and "illogical".

Moreover, any documentary evidence from an oppressive employer in such a situation would be regarded with suspicion, Justice Hoo said.

It was also clear to her that a note supposedly penned by Ms Moe Moe Than declaring that she had received her salary in full had been dictated to her by Chia.

She reversed the acquittal and convicted Chia of the charge, sentencing her to three months' jail for it, along with a compensation order of S$1,450, which is the outstanding salary owed to the helper.

The judge also allowed the prosecution's appeal for a higher jail sentence for Tay, saying it was warranted to reflect the gravity of the offences.

COMPENSATE HELPERS OR HAVE PROPERTY SEIZED

Before the close of the hearing, the prosecution reminded the couple through the court that if they do not fulfil the compensation orders for both doemstic helpers, the prosecution can order their property to be seized.

Tay told the judge that he and his wife did not know how much they owed, and Deputy Public Prosecutor Kumaresan Gohulabalan said that Chia owes S$1,900 to Ms Fitriyah, while Tay owes S$5,900 to her.

Including the S$1,450 in salary Chia owes Ms Moe Moe Than, Chia owes her S$7,950 in total, while Tay owes her S$3,000.

In total, the couple owe the two foreign domestic workers S$18,750.

However, their former defence lawyer had told the court that the couple had exhausted all of their financial resources on the trials.

Tay asked the court if he and his wife could serve default sentences in lieu of payment, but Justice Hoo explained that a compensation order is different from a fine where serving a jail term in default is allowed.

She urged them to make payment and asked the prosecution to write down the amounts for them.

Tay asked the judge if she could assist the couple, because they wanted to tele-visit each other every month but needed another institute on top of the Singapore Prison Service to agree to their request.

The judge agreed as they were not represented by lawyers.

The couple are now serving their sentences for their treatment of Ms Moe Moe Than.

For abusing Ms Fitriyah, Tay had been given 43 months’ jail, an increase from 28 months’ jail upon appeal, while his wife had received a two-month prison sentence.

The case will be heard again in High Court to determine how they will serve these sentences. CNA

CNA editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that Chia Yun Ling was also given more jail time. This is incorrect as the three months she was sentenced to on Aug 26 will run concurrently with her original sentence. We apologise for the error.

For more stories like this, visit cna.asia.