• Wang Xiaohui hit Ms Ngo Sabal on four occasions in 2019
• She struck the domestic worker with three plastic clothes hangers and a wooden one on the last occasion
• She did not take Ms Sabal to the doctor and told her to discard the broken hanger pieces
• The prosecution sought jail time, while a judge called for a mandatory treatment order report
• She will return to court on June 21 for sentencing

SINGAPORE — Angry with her domestic worker for misunderstanding her instructions, Wang Xiaohui struck her several times with clothes hangers until they broke, leaving her with multiple bruises.

Wang did not take the worker to the doctor, and her offences came to light only after the worker crossed paths with another woman in public and showed her the injuries.

Wang, 35, pleaded guilty on Monday (May 24) to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Ms Ngo Sabal, 25.

Three other similar charges, all in relation to Wang assaulting the Myanmar national in her Ang Mo Kio flat, will be taken into consideration for sentencing next month.

District Judge May Mesenas called for a report to assess if Wang is suitable for a mandatory treatment order, as she was diagnosed with major depressive disorder. This is a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to their offending.

The prosecution is seeking eight weeks’ jail and a compensation order of S$2,000.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Janice See argued that Wang’s diagnosis by a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) was based on her own reported symptoms, and that she consistently understated her role in the offences.

ANGRY OVER DISHES

The court heard that Ms Sabal began working for the household in March 2019, performing household chores and looking after Wang’s two young children. It was her first time working in Singapore.

Court documents showed that Wang first abused her in May that year by hitting her head twice. The next month, she hit Ms Sabal again five times and kicked her in the groin area.

In July, Wang then hit the worker with part of a vacuum cleaner.

Then, on July 16, Wang told Ms Sabal to wash and dry Wang’s clothing by hand to avoid contaminating the rest of the family’s clothes. This was because Wang had chickenpox at the time.

Ms Sabal washed Wang’s clothes separately but dried them together in the washing machine. Wang scolded her and told her to remove the clothes.

Later that day, she told Ms Sabal to wash her dishes separately from the family’s, but Ms Sabal used the same sponge for all the dishes.

Seeing red, Wang struck her with a plastic hanger several times till it broke, then beat her on her arm and back with two other plastic hangers till they also broke.

She turned to using a wooden hanger, striking Ms Sabal's arm, back, thigh and head several times while shouting at her and scolding her.

She only stopped when this hanger broke as well and she then told Ms Sabal to discard the broken pieces in the rubbish chute.

DPP See told the court: "Despite the victim sustaining extensive bruising from the beatings, the accused did not take the victim to seek medical attention.” 

Two days after this assault, Ms Sabal came across a 40-year-old woman at a playground and approached her, rolling up her sleeves to reveal bruises on her left upper arm. She said that her employer had hit her.

The woman took photographs of the bruises and called the police. The relationship between Ms Sabal and the 40-year-old woman was not specified in court documents.

Officers went to Wang’s flat a few hours later and Ms Sabal was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was treated for her injuries.

She has stayed at a shelter since then and said that she no longer wishes to work here.

SHE WAS JUST ‘PLAYING’

In seeking jail time, DPP See referred to an IMH report dated February this year and prepared by the psychiatrist who examined Wang.

The report stated that Wang had claimed that she was just “playing” with Ms Sabal in relation to her first two offences, and there could have been a misunderstanding. She also said that she had accidentally dropped the vacuum cleaner on the Ms Sabal's leg.

DPP See said: “The accused has demonstrated a propensity to colour events such that she is reflected in a positive light; such that her recount contradicts the particulars of the charges she is facing.” 

The IMH report did not confirm whether Wang’s mental disorder contributed to her offences.

Wang, who is represented by lawyer Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation, will return to court on June 21.

For voluntarily causing hurt, she could be jailed for up to two years or fined up to S$5,000, or both. If the crimes involve a domestic worker, offenders may receive one-and-a-half times the maximum punishment.