bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Frustrated with her domestic helper’s work, a woman dumped an entire bottle of soy sauce over the helper’s head.
Noorwahidah Johari, 42, also threw chilli at the victim, Indonesian Putri Rizki Amelia, 33, and twisted her left ear.
Noorwahidah, a Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of using criminal force and one count of voluntarily causing hurt.
The remaining four charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing. These relate to Noorwahidah throwing a basket of rubbish, a cup of water, and flour at Putri, as well as swinging a shoe at her.
Noorwahidah’s husband employed Putri in March 2023 to work at the household.
On September 28 that year, Noorwahidah asked why the soy sauce bottle was not in the refrigerator. She said she had repeatedly reminded Putri to keep the bottle to no avail for the past one-and-a-half months.
The helper said the soy sauce bottle was generally kept on the kitchen table and that it was too big to fit into the fridge. Angered, Noorwahidah uncapped the bottle and upended half its contents over the victim’s head.
In response, Putri challenged Noorwahidah to pour the whole bottle over her head, and Noorwahidah did so.
In September that year, Noorwahidah asked Putri to cut chilli and remove the seeds. Noorwahidah rejected the chilli when she saw that there were seeds in it, telling the helper to clean the chilli again.
When the chilli came back, Noorwahidah became upset as there were still seeds. She threw the chilli, which hit the victim’s eyes. Putri’s eyes felt irritated that night.
In October 2023, Noorwahidah became upset at Putri after smelling an odour from her couch upon arriving home.
She had instructed Putri to place a rubber mat on the sofa to prevent her daughter’s urine from dirtying the sofa.
Putri claimed she had washed the sofa after the girl had urinated that morning, but Noorwahidah maintained that there was still a smell of urine. Putri tried to clean the couch again but Noorwahidah was already incensed.
She grabbed Putri’s left ear and twisted it, remarking that the helper could not afford the expensive couch.
Putri made a police report on October 9, 2023, stating that she had been instructed to sleep in the kitchen since day two of her employment.
She said that Noorwahidah had been verbally and physically abusive towards her, adding that Noorwahidah threatened to make her pay S$2,000 (US$1,500) if she reported the incidents to the Ministry of Manpower.
The prosecution sought five to nine weeks’ jail for Noorwahidah, who had levied a “pattern of abuse” on the victim.
Noorwahidah’s lawyer Noelle Teoh noted that there had not been any direct physical contact and that the incidents were brief. The victim did not suffer lasting injuries, she added.
The woman’s acts arose from the frustration and dissatisfaction from Putri’s work performance and from her instructions not being followed, Teoh said.
Teoh said her client deeply regrets her actions. “This was a case where she had regrettably lost control of her temper. The incidents were out of character.
“Her young children and elderly parents are dependent on her and a lengthy prison will have impact on the children,” the lawyer said.
This story was first published by CNA


Risk of military mishap rising as PLA steps up ‘salami slicing’: former Taiwan minister

Hong Kong has to improve experience of visitors as events list grows

Member loses HK$38,000 as Hong Kong branch of Singaporean 1880 club faces probe

Indonesia issues Covid-19 warning over surge in cases in Asia

Singapore

Singapore woman jailed for pouring soy sauce on helper’s head, throwing chilli at her

Singapore’s skyline. A woman was jailed for four weeks after pouring soy sauce over her domestic helper’s head. Photo: AFP

Singapore couple burnt corpse of girl, 4, who was starved, abused and fatally punched

A view of the skyline in Singapore. Hoping to escape detection after Megan died, the couple burnt the girl’s scarred and emaciated body to ashes in a purpose-built barrel. Her remains were never recovered. Photo: Reuters

Rain clouds hover over the skyline of Singapore. Megan’s death was discovered after her biological father made a police report in July 2020 saying he was concerned for her safety. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Upset little girl with teddy bear. Megan’s mother, 29-year-old Foo Li Ping, and her then-boyfriend, 38-year-old Wong Shi Xiang, who were originally accused of murder, will return to court for sentencing on April 3. Photo: Shutterstock

Shadow hands of a little girl behind frosted glass. Megan Khung, 4, died after her mother’s boyfriend punched her in the stomach on February 21, 2020. Photo: Shutterstock

Singapore jails Vietnamese woman who live-streamed sex acts in public

A Vietnamese woman was jailed for performing obscene acts outside a public housing block in Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The employer, frustrated with the helper’s work performance, repeatedly abused her, including twisting her ear


The employer, frustrated with the helper’s work performance, repeatedly abused her, including twisting her ear.


Indonesia

Crime