Woman’s OCD led her to starve maid: Psychiatrist

SINGAPORE — Her obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) linked to cleanliness was why a woman restricted her maid to two “quick and simple” meals of white bread and instant noodles daily — causing the maid’s weight to plummet from 49kg to 29kg in 15 months — said a psychiatrist testifying in her defence on Wednesday (Oct 5).

Housewife Chong Sui Foon, 48, did not set out to deprive her Filipino maid of food, said Dr Munidasa Winslow, a senior consultant psychiatrist. Rather, her obsession with cleanliness ran all aspects of her life, including finding ways to make her maid resume her cleaning duties quickly, he added.

Dr Winslow was taking the stand in a three-day hearing on Chong’s mental state during her offence, ahead of her sentencing for one offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Chong and her businessman husband Lim Choon Hong, also 48, pleaded guilty in March to starving Ms Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, after a highly publicised three-day trial.

Dr Lim Yun Chin from Raffles Hospital, who was also testifying for the defence, said Chong’s OCD contributed significantly to her commission of the offence. “In her warped mind, everything must revolve around cleanliness,” said Dr Lim.

Dr Winslow added that Chong’s fixation with cleanliness and control extended to her family’s meals. “Even her feeding of her own family was kind of dysfunctional — forcing them to eat in front of her and making sure they ate even if they told her they had already eaten,” he said.

Dr Lim also said Chong’s family was “emotionally paralysed” by her mental disorder. Lim, for instance, was aware of his wife’s temperament and could not intervene in her treatment of Ms Gawidan, he said.

Dr Winslow added that Chong was in a “jail of her own” as her OCD compelled her to behave in a way that was problematic for herself and her family. One of her sons had left home because he could not cope with her behaviour.

The prosecution sought to poke holes in their argument by pointing out that Chong treated her family and Ms Gawidan differently. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet said Chong “invested the time and effort to provide different food for the family members”. He added: “She had the will to do so, but she did not do so for Ms Gawidan.”

In response, Dr Winslow maintained that the differing treatment also stemmed from Chong’s OCD. “The primary objective of domestic help is that they clean or conduct the cleaning rituals for the house ... the meals have to be quick and simple, taken in as short a time as possible so that she can continue with the primary objective, which is to clean the house,” he said.

The restrictions on the type of meals Chong provided for Ms Gawidan also had to do with her obsession with cleanliness, he added, as she chose food that “is not dirty or (brought) germs into the house”.

Dr Winslow said: “I understand (Chong) doesn’t even eat rice, herself.”

When the prosecutor asked why Chong and Lim had to restrict Ms Gawidan to instant noodles and white bread even when they were on overseas trips, Dr Winslow said: “I know it’s crazy thinking. But if (Ms Gawidan) got used to taking lots of other dishes outside, then she’ll come back home and do the same. Then the (cleanliness) of the house will be affected.” 

“The issue was to ensure everything was controlled so that the (home) environment would not change,” he added.

Besides restricting Ms Gawidan’s meals, the couple also barred her from using the toilets in their Cuscaden Walk condominium. She could only bathe once or twice a week, and had to use a common toilet on the third level of the block to do so.

The hearing continues on Thursday with the prosecution’s expert witness taking the stand.