Maid jailed for kicking toddler, hitting him repeatedly with diaper and clothes hanger

SINGAPORE: A domestic worker was on Wednesday (Mar 9) jailed for slapping, hitting and kicking a two-year-old boy until there were bruises on his back.

May Than Oo, 30, pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treatment under the Children and Young Persons Act. She was jailed for nine months, the sentence sought by the prosecution.

The court heard that the domestic worker, who is from Myanmar, was employed to do household chores and care for the victim and his two siblings.

Around 8.15pm on Jun 15 last year, she was folding clothes in the victim's bedroom when she noticed a foul smell. She saw that the toddler had soiled his diaper, and that faeces were smeared on his hands and toys.

Angered, the accused scolded him "naughty boy" and slapped his face several times, causing him to fall to the ground. The boy was in tears.

She continued to hit him multiple times as he lay on the ground, first with a fresh diaper then with a towel.

The woman then told the boy to go to the bathroom. He stood up, but when he started to walk in the wrong direction, she was further angered.

She used the towel to hit his face once, then hit him with her right hand, whereupon he fell to the ground. While he was on the ground, she kicked him once with her right foot.

The woman then took the toddler to the bathroom, pushing him in and then using a clothes hanger to hit him twice on his back.

The child's parents were not at home during the incident.

Court documents did not specify how the case came to light, but said that the boy's parents brought him to the hospital on Jun 18, and that the police were alerted to a case of child abuse later that day.

A medical report by the hospital noted two bruises measuring about 1cm by 3cm and 1cm by 7cm over the victim's back.

The accused's ill-treatment of the boy was partially captured by cameras in the home.

She could have been jailed eight years, fined up to S$8,000 or both.