Maid jailed 8 weeks for swinging toddler up and down, stealing from employer

SINGAPORE — Frustrated with the one-year-old boy’s crying, a foreign domestic worker pushed him on the forehead and swung him up and down several times.

Susiana, who goes by one name, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on Monday (March 2).

The 36-year-old Indonesian pleaded guilty to ill-treating the child and stealing her employer’s mobile phone, with another two similar charges considered for sentencing.

The court heard that on Sept 27 last year, the employer was looking at the live closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of her home, which she could access through a mobile application.

She saw Susiana cooking in the kitchen, before the boy walked towards her while crying. Susiana then pushed his forehead with her hand, causing him to fall backwards and land on his bottom.

The boy continued crying and sat on the kitchen floor for about 10 minutes before standing up on his own.

Still frustrated, Susiana grabbed his wrists and swung him up and down — as high as her chest level. She then carried him out of the view of the CCTV camera.

Upon seeing this, the employer immediately went home and confronted Susiana, who admitted to her crimes. The employer’s grandfather then called the police.

When the police arrested Susiana later that day, the employer asked her to empty her bag of its belongings before leaving with the police officers.

The helper then admitted that she had stolen an iPhone 5S valued at about S$600 from the television console in the living room, because she wanted to call her son. Court documents showed that she also took a Samsung mobile phone with a cracked screen, a purse and iPhone earphones.

The boy was examined the next day at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he was observed to be fretful and had sustained a bruise.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Chan sought the sentence that was later imposed, saying that a deterrent sentence was warranted to “deter caregivers from inflicting unnecessary physical pain on children”. He said that Susiana had caused harm to the child instead of taking care of him.

In mitigation, she said through an interpreter that she was “very remorseful” and has three young children to support, being the sole breadwinner of her family.

For ill-treatment of a child, she could have been jailed up to four years, fined up to S$4,000, or both. For theft, she could have been jailed up to seven years or fined.