Maid jailed 4 months for pinching terminally ill elderly woman

SINGAPORE — Upset with her employer’s elderly mother for throwing tantrums and insulting her, a domestic helper pinched the woman on various parts of her body while she lay bedridden in hospital.

On Wednesday (Sept 11), 28-year-old Lain Ngain was sentenced to four months’ jail after pleading guilty to causing hurt to Madam Wee Keu Hoi on Dec 31 last year.

The 67-year-old died from a heart attack about a month later.

The court heard that Lain, a Myanmar national, began working at her employer’s home in September 2017. She primarily cared for Mdm Wee.

The elderly woman suffered from end-stage renal disease and was hospitalised at the National University Hospital from July 5, 2018 to Jan 23 this year.

Lain took care of Mdm Wee and attended to her needs in the ward during visiting hours.

On the day of the incident, the maid was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) pinching Mdm Wee on her breast, arm, cheek and nose. This happened within the span of about an hour.

Later that afternoon, when Mdm Wee’s son visited her in the ward, she told him Lain had hit her on several occasions.

He told the duty nurse about it, who reviewed the CCTV footage for the day and confirmed the allegations.

Further investigations revealed that Lain was upset with Mdm Wee for throwing tantrums and insulting her on several occasions in the hospital ward. She pinched the elderly woman to stop her from doing so.

As a result, Mdm Wee suffered a small bruise on her breast.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng sought at least four months’ jail, calling it “an utter betrayal of trust”.

“(Mdm Wee) clearly belonged to a recognised class of vulnerable victims that the law seeks to protect. These are victims who may not be able to comprehend or clearly articulate their distress when harm is inflicted on them,” the prosecutor said.

For causing hurt, Lain could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined up to S$5,000, or both.