Woman employer sentenced to three weeks imprisonment after slapping a maid

SINGAPORE: An employer was sentenced to jail for three weeks after slapping her maid. The 62-year-old female employer pleaded guilty to intentional wounding, and the other charge of assault will be taken into consideration by the judge. 

The maid who was slapped was a 42-year-old Indonesian who had been working for the female employer since January 2021. In total, there were four people in the employer’s home: herself, her husband, her daughter, and her mother-in-law. 

What led to the slapping?

In 2023, the female employer renewed her contract with the maid and gave her a raise from her original salary. Their relationship with each other has always been good, until the maid went home for vacation. 

During the maid’s vacation, the female employer hired a temporary helper, and when the Indonesian maid returned, the employer still asked the temporary helper to continue working. The original maid also felt that her employer was not as friendly to her as before. 

In one unfortunate incident, the original maid found out that some of her money had gone missing from her wallet. She then asked the female employer’s daughter to help check the security camera. The next morning, the temporary maid complained that she was being accused of stealing money. 

With this, the original maid angrily ran to the female employer and complained. The employer then asked her temporary maid to come for a confrontation. After the confrontation, the original maid yelled at the temporary maid again, and when the female employer heard her and asked why, the original maid did not stop. Out of anger, the female employer pushed the maid and slapped her. 

In Singapore, there are legal penalties when one commits maid abuse. If an employer is found guilty of abusing a foreign domestic worker (FDW), they will face serious punishments and will never be allowed to hire a maid again. 

Moreover, if one voluntarily hurts and intentionally causes physical pain, the consequences can be a fine of up to S$5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to three years.

Additionally, when employers or anyone living in the employer’s house commits a crime against their domestic worker, the court can give a punishment that is twice as strict as the maximum penalty for that specific crime. The higher punishment is given unless it can be shown that the abusive relationship did not make it harder for the domestic worker to protect herself from the harm that was being caused. 

Singapore recognises the vulnerable situation of domestic workers and is imposing stricter consequences to protect their rights and discourage abuse.