SINGAPORE — For more than two months in 2016, Jenny Chan Yun Hui rained blows on her Indonesian domestic helper, punching her so forcefully that she broke the maid’s nose.

Chan also punched Ms Rasi — who goes by one name — in the eyes multiple times, until her left eye was so swollen that she could not see out of it for about half an hour.

Apart from the physical abuse, she forbade Ms Rasi to use a phone or speak to the neighbours. 

A day after Ms Rasi finally managed to speak to another maid staying in the opposite condominium unit, she fled and sought help at the Indonesian embassy.

On Tuesday (Nov 19), Chan, a 42-year-old mother of two, was sentenced in a district court to one year and three months behind bars for her actions.

She pleaded guilty in February to three counts of causing hurt and grievous hurt to Ms Rasi, 27. Another four such charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Two psychiatrists agreed that Chan’s major depressive disorder contributed to her offences, while her lawyer Gary Leonard Low told the court that she has made about S$12,000 in compensation to Ms Rasi.

“Despite this being a large amount, our client paid up the full amount and this is a clear reflection of her sincere remorse,” said Mr Low, who added that the maid is still working in Singapore.

Chan sobbed in the dock as District Judge Eddy Tham passed the sentence. He noted that she had been “going through a stressful time of her own” but subjected the maid to “severe and prolonged” physical abuse.

While her mental condition meant she had less control over her actions, District Judge Tham said this could not absolve her of the injuries and suffering she had caused.

“Had the victim not eventually gathered the courage to run away, there’s no sign that such violence would have abated on the accused’s own volition,” he added.

The judge also said that the nature of the assaults had “resulted clearly in psychological harm”, even though Ms Rasi did not give any victim impact statement.

For causing grievous hurt to a domestic helper, Chan could have been jailed for up to 15 years and fined. She will begin serving her sentence on Dec 3.

HIT HEAD WITH PLASTIC BOWL

The court heard that Ms Rasi began working for Chan’s household in February 2016. Her duties included cleaning, cooking and doing the laundry.

Chan ordered her to get up at about 6am every day to perform her chores, gave her a strict schedule of tasks to follow and monitored her through multiple closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed throughout the unit.

As she did not get enough rest, Ms Rasi often incurred Chan’s wrath by falling asleep while doing her chores.

Chan began physically assaulting her two months into her employment.

Once, Ms Rasi was meant to clean the kitchen and prepare food in the morning, but Chan grew upset at her for not finishing her chores. The helper apologised, but Chan punched her in the eye.

When Ms Rasi was cleaning the kitchen floor, Chan hit her on her back with her hand, and then hit the back of the maid’s head with a plastic bowl, causing her to bleed.

Chan rinsed the blood off and applied medicated oil to Ms Rasi’s head. She did not take her to the doctor.

At one point, Ms Rasi decided to flee the household as she could no longer tolerate the abuse. Court documents did not state when that was.

One day, she decided to clean the toilet and then run away.

However, Chan returned and asked why she did not stick to the schedule by cleaning the bedroom first.

Join our Telegram channel to get TODAY's top stories on mobile:

*TODAY's WhatsApp news service will cease from November 30, 2019.

Ms Rasi replied that she had intended to leave for good, which angered Chan. 

She pinched and grabbed the maid’s arms, dragged her out of the room by her hair and ordered her to clean the floor.

Chan later gave her some medication and told her not to tell her husband that she had returned home early. 

She also told the maid that if she ran away, she would call the police and “put her in jail for 20 years”. Ms Rasi grew afraid that she would not be able to see her son again.

Later that same day, Chan grew angry again when Ms Rasi fell asleep while cleaning the room.

She pinched the helper’s ears with her fingernails, causing them to bleed. She also punched Ms Rasi’s eyes multiple times, before placing cotton wool on the maid’s swollen left eye and applying medicated oil on her ears.

On another occasion, Chan punched Ms Rasi in the nose several times as she had woken up late. When the maid told her she could not breathe through her nose, Chan continued to punch her, causing a right nasal bone fracture.

Things reached a tipping point on June 19, 2016, when Ms Rasi managed to speak to another maid who told her she could take a taxi to the embassy to get help.

Ms Rasi packed her belongings and fled the next day. 

Court documents showed that Chan had also assaulted her earlier that morning by punching her twice between her eyes, slapping her three times on her face and kicking her twice on the back of her head.