SINGAPORE: The prosecution is seeking a 30-month jail sentence for a helper from the Philippines who abused a young child in her care on over 20 occasions when he interrupted her sleep. While she has said that she hopes the boy’s parents will forgive her, she also claimed that she treated her own children back home.
According to a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) report, Nucom Loreta Talbo was responsible for the care of a one-year-old boy, who slept in the same room as she did. She began working for the child’s family in September 2023, and between Mar 5, 2024, and Jul 23, 2024, she abused him at least 22 times.
Nucom pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating a child over 22 occasions on Wednesday (Jul 16) and will be sentenced on Jul 30, with CNA adding that the helper has been given the opportunity to talk to a representative from the Philippine Embassy.
While the child’s parents were only alerted to the helper hurting their child in July 2024, the abuse could have started as early as December 2023, when the boy’s teacher found signs of injury. The helper denied having hurt the boy when the parents confronted her, however.
On Jul 23, 2024, the boy’s parents woke up in the middle of the night because they heard him crying loudly. This prompted them to check footage from the CCTV camera in the bedroom the helper shared with the boy, and they discovered that she had been hitting the boy’s head several times, slapping him, pinching his cheek, and other examples of rough handling.
Even with the evidence, Nucom at first denied mistreating the child, but later admitted it, adding that she had raised her children with such treatment.
It is unknown if the helper was abusive toward the boy prior to Mar 5, 2024, as the CCTV had been faulty before that date.
A number of commenters on the story, while horrified at the cruelty of Nucom’s actions and expressing the hope that she is punished accordingly, also said that it would be better if helpers had clearer roles. They argued that maids should be expected to do housework, and if they are hired as nannies, then this should be their primary duty, particularly if they are responsible for the care of very young children, and not a mixture of both.
“You either hired helper for the housework and a nanny for the kids. Never two jobs for the helper,” wrote one.
Another said it has been common for people to “hire a maid who has to do all the chores, cook, take care of the kids, and even walk their dogs, sometimes even on her rest days.”
A number of commenters said that young children should sleep with their parents, and not with helpers, especially since toddlers are still unable to express themselves in cases where they have been hurt. This would also ensure that the helper gets a break from her duties, especially if she does housework as well as childcare.
“I will never let my helper sleep with my baby. My baby still does at least one night feed, helper already has so much work in the day, it is cruel not to let her have proper sleep at night,” one woman wrote.
Local Reddit users appeared to agree.
“You cannot expect infinite patience from them when the child cries through the night or disrupts their rest. Even as parents, we experience frustration when the child just keeps waking up through the night. It is wrong for them to abuse your child, yes, but do you want to take the risk that they will do it without your knowledge to your child who is unable to voice their suffering to you?” one wrote.
“The thing is, nannies are not maids and maids are not nannies, but it ends up becoming part of their job scope to do anything and everything. If ppl cannot take care of their two to three kids daily while doing all the housework… why do they expect the maid to do it?” another added. /TISG
Read also: ‘DO NOT HIRE A MAID IF…’: Singaporean calls out unrealistic expectations of employers
