Toy guitar broke after woman used it to hit maid on face; employers get jail, fine for various abuses

SINGAPORE — About seven months into her job, an Indonesian domestic worker sustained several injuries on her face and body because her employers would slap and kick her whenever she made a mistake.

The employers, Jin Yan, 36, and her husband Wang Cheng Xiang, 47, contested their charges in a trial and were both convicted of their offences in May.

Jin, a China national and Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to 28 weeks' jail and fined S$2,500 on Monday (Aug 28) for four counts of voluntarily causing hurt and one charge of using criminal force with a toy guitar to hit the maid.

Wang, a Singaporean, was also sentenced on the same day to 13 weeks' jail and fined S$1,000 for his role in voluntarily causing hurt. He had slapped the helper on two occasions.  

The couple have filed an appeal against their conviction and sentence, and are set to return to court at a later date.

WHAT HAPPENED

Between June 2017 and January 2018, Jin and her husband physically abused their domestic worker, who goes by one name, Lutin. This happened whenever she made mistakes or was perceived to be doing something that put their children's safety at risk.

The first assault started sometime in July 2017, when Jin slapped Ms Lutin after she had forgotten to wipe the utensils dry. 

Jin later called Ms Lutin's agent Hong Wan Yi, but Ms Lutin told Ms Hong that she wanted to return to the employment agency and change her employer because Jin had hit her.

Ms Hong did not accede to that request but told her in Bahasa Indonesia that the agency would tell Jin that the employer could scold the helper but not physically assault her.

Four months later, when Jin was out with the children, Ms Lutin cooked some rice for the family.

When they returned, the couple's son touched the hot rice cooker and sustained a blister on his finger.

Jin then proceeded to slap Ms Lutin on the cheek more than once, pulled her ponytail and caused her to fall, before kicking her on the chest.

Despite Ms Lutin's apology, Jin told her that her own hands were "red and pain" from having done the slapping.

When Wang returned home that night, he questioned Ms Lutin about the incident before he slapped her on the cheek. 

During her employment, Ms Lutin travelled with the family to China between November and December 2017 where Wang slapped her again for having misplaced his daughter's comb and Jin pinched the corner of her right eye for forgetting to cover a hot flask containing water.

After their return from China, Ms Lutin was slapped by Jin more than once, presumably for not watching out for the children’s safety, when the children climbed onto a table in the living room.

She was assaulted again in January 2018 by Jin who scolded her, slapped her, pulled her hair until she fell to the ground, and kicked her in the back.

In the same month, on a separate occasion, Jin used a toy guitar to hit Ms Lutin on her cheeks and the toy broke into two.

As a result of that assault, Ms Lutin sustained injuries, which included a cut at the chin, bruises near the cheekbone and a cut near the cheekbone.

HELP FROM FELLOW MAIDS

On Jan 4, 2018, while Ms Lutin was waiting with Jin's daughter at the playground for Jin to buy groceries from the market, an Indonesian domestic worker saw Ms Lutin and went up to ask what happened to her face.

Ms Lutin told her that she had been hit by her employer.

When asked if she was able to call her agent, Ms Lutin said that she was not able to because she did not have a mobile phone.

The domestic worker then offered to help Ms Lutin by taking photographs of her injury and obtaining the agency’s details as well as her address.

She then posted Ms Lutin's photographs and details on Facebook to seek help.

Ms Sri Sunarni, a fellow Indonesian maid who was involved with a social welfare organisation at the time, came across the Facebook post and called the police.

That night, police officers visited Jin and Wang's residence and Ms Lutin was removed from the home.

For voluntarily causing hurt, the couple could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

For using criminal force, Jin could have been jailed for up to three months or fined S$1,500, or both.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the couple could have been jailed for up to one year or fined S$1,000, or both. This is incorrect. For voluntarily causing hurt, the couple could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both. We are sorry for the error.