SINGAPORE — Following a dispute over an air-conditioner in his home, a teenager spat at his foreign domestic helper’s face, telling her that she was just a maid and had no right to be in Singapore.

Ng Jia Sheng also threw items at Ms Estabillo Soledad Agustin and punched her, breaking her nose.

Ng, now 20, was sentenced to at least six months of reformative training on Tuesday (Sept 1), a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.

Offenders are given a minimum period that is subject to how they respond to the rehabilitation.

Ng pleaded guilty earlier this year to one charge each of using criminal force on the 41-year-old Filipina, committing a rash act that endangered her personal safety, and causing alarm to her.

Two other charges of voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that the dispute took place on the evening of June 7, 2018.

When Ng asked Ms Agustin to switch on the air-conditioner, she replied that it was already switched on but Ng disagreed. 

He told her again that he wanted her to switch it on and adjust it to a “very cold” setting, to which she replied in an irritated manner that she would do so, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Zhou Yihong told the court.

Angry at Ms Agustin’s attitude, Ng followed her to the living room, where she threw the air-conditioner remote control onto the table after using it.

They then began arguing until they were both shouting at each other. Ng spat on her face and she responded likewise.

“During the altercation, the accused told the victim that she was only a maid, was poor and had no right to be in Singapore,” DPP Zhou said.

Court documents showed that Ng also punched her on the forehead and held a chair in a threatening manner as if he wanted to hit her.

After Ng’s father separated them, Ng followed Ms Agustin into the kitchen where he picked up a metal mug containing some water and threw it at her. The mug struck her on the face under her left eye.

She began crying, saying that Ng had no right to hit her and that not even her parents or husband did so. 

She then threw various items such as plastic medicine bottles and a plastic jug at Ng but missed.

Ng’s brother restrained her and calmed her down. She then went outside the house gate before telling another maid in the household to call the police.

Later that night, Ms Agustin was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She suffered a broken nose as well as abrasions and swelling over her eye.