• Ong Si Mien, 39, pleaded guilty to three charges of assaulting her Indonesian domestic worker
• She struck the victim on the head with a metal bowl and cordless phone, and also slapped her
• The victim escaped the Sengkang flat and walked to Jalan Kayu to get help
• In her defence, Ong’s lawyer said she was suffering from postnatal depression at the time

SINGAPORE — Ong Si Mien first began abusing her Indonesian domestic worker two weeks after she came to the household, striking her on the head with a metal bowl.

She then assaulted the victim five more times over the next few months. 

Yulia, who goes by only one name, eventually escaped her employer’s Sengkang flat without any money save for some coins from her home country, before getting help from a member of the public at a bus stop.

Ong, 39, who runs her own business from home, pleaded guilty on Thursday (Feb 25) to three counts of voluntarily causing hurt to the 33-year-old victim.

She was acquitted of a more serious charge of causing hurt by a dangerous weapon or means after a trial.

District Judge Eddy Tham will consider three other charges for sentencing at a later date. He adjourned the case to next week in order to look at the prosecution’s and defence’s submissions on the sentence. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Soh Weiqi is seeking at least eight months’ jail time, while Ong’s lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu asked for a mandatory treatment order suitability report to be called.

This is a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence. Those found suitable must attend sessions with a court-appointed psychiatrist.

Mr Singh told the court that an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist had found that Ong suffered from depression with anxiety symptoms. She also had postnatal depression, which she developed after giving birth to her second son, that partially contributed to her offences, the lawyer added.

THE ABUSES

The court heard that Ong was Yulia’s first employer in Singapore. She began working for Ong in July 2016. 

Around two weeks later, while the pair were in the kitchen, Ong scolded her for keeping all the bowls in a cupboard instead of leaving three of them on the shelves.

Ong then took one of the bowls and struck Yulia on the side of her head. Yulia noticed that the bowl was slightly dented from the impact.

She then approached Ong’s husband in the living room and told him that she wanted to be transferred back to the employment agency. However, Ong rubbished that suggestion and scolded her for talking to him.

In another instance in August 2016, Ong’s mother-in-law told Yulia to boil some Chinese herbs. Yulia did so before going to wash the toilets and had to shower at a later time than usual.

Before she could do so, Ong got home and scolded her for showering later.

Ong then took a call on a cordless phone before using it to hit Yulia on the top of her head once. While the helper “felt pain”, she remained standing in front of Ong because one of Ong’s rules was that she had to stay still when Ong was angry at her.

After this, Yulia requested once more for a transfer but Ong refused, saying that she would transfer her to India instead.

The final straw came on Sept 24 that year. Ong had scolded Yulia for putting her four-year-old son’s pants on in the wrong manner, then slapped her on the face hard, causing her nose to bleed.

Ong later left the flat with the boy and Yulia decided to leave as well. She had not received any of her salary at this point and had only some coins from Indonesia.

She took her belongings and walked to the Jalan Kayu-Seletar area, managing to get help from a passerby who called the police.

Police officers later took her to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

OPEN TO PAYING S$5,200 IN COMPENSATION

In seeking jail time and a S$5,200 compensation order, DPP Soh argued that a domestic worker’s conduct should never justify abuse.

The prosecutor also referred to the IMH psychiatrist’s findings that Ong’s postnatal depression had only partially diminished her ability to exercise self-control. 

The psychiatrist did not have a chance to assess her condition firsthand, relying largely on Ong’s and her husband’s reporting.

In terms of the compensation sum, this comprised S$550 for four months of unemployment and S$500 for each of the six instances of abuse.

In mitigation, Mr Singh said that a jail sentence would “serve no purpose” given Ong’s medical issues. Ong and her husband have agreed to pay the compensation.

Urging the court to call for a treatment order report, the lawyer said that Ong's younger son — who has epilepsy — would "need her undivided attention" day and night, especially as they are unable to hire another domestic worker under the current circumstances.

Aside from postnatal depression, she had also suffered from a wound infection, breast abscess and was involved in a road traffic accident within months of giving birth.

She is still going for treatment at IMH, Mr Singh added.

The maximum penalty for causing hurt is up to two years’ jail and a fine of up to S$5,000.

Employers of foreign domestic workers, or those in their household, are liable to one-and-a-half times the punishment — resulting in up to three years’ jail and a fine of up to S$7,500.