Maid jailed 9 months for forcefully hitting month-old baby’s back

SINGAPORE — While feeding an infant under her care, Lana Ngizatul Mona hit the boy’s back three times so forcefully that the impact could be heard on closed-circuit television camera footage.

The 26-year-old Indonesian domestic helper was sentenced to nine months’ jail on Wednesday (Oct 21) after pleading guilty to one count of ill-treating the month-old baby.

Appearing through a videolink, she cried while telling an interpreter that she has a six-year-old child of her own to support and was “very remorseful” for what she did. 

She has been remanded in Changi Prison since September.

The court heard that she began working for her employer in February this year. 

She handled general household chores and took care of four children, including the baby who was born shortly after she began working there.

On the morning of April 30, the boy’s mother was in her bedroom when she heard her son crying loudly.

This prompted her to check video footage from the closed-circuit television camera in the living room. The video clip was played in court.

Mona could be seen sitting at the dining table, carrying the boy in her arms while feeding him with a milk bottle.

She hit him with her wrist first, causing him to cry. She then hit the infant on the back with her fist twice and he cried once more.

Mona admitted to doing so as a way of dealing with her stress.

The boy’s mother took him to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for a medical examination later that day. He suffered a small bruise on his upper back from the abuse.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Pei Wei sought the sentence imposed, noting that caretakers of children must know that acts of ill-treatment will result in severe punishment.

Children are “inherently vulnerable” and the boy was completely unable to defend himself with such offences being difficult to detect, the prosecutor said.

She pointed to recent amendments in the Children and Young Persons Act which doubled the punishment for ill-treating a child as of January this year.

Those convicted can now be jailed up to eight years or fined up to S$8,000, or both.

These amendments were to provide stronger protection for those who cannot protect themselves, DPP Tan said.