Chong Sui Foon and Lim Choon Hong, who were charged for starving their Filipino domestic helper, arrive at the State Courts for a hearing in Singapore Monday. Photo: The Straits Times/Wong Kwai Chow via REUTERS
Chong Sui Foon and Lim Choon Hong, who were charged for starving their Filipino domestic helper, arrive at the State Courts for a hearing in Singapore Monday. Photo: The Straits Times/Wong Kwai Chow via REUTERS

A Singapore couple who fed their 40-year-old Filipino live-in domestic helper a starvation diet for more than a year were jailed and fined by a district court in Singapore on Monday.

The man Lim Choon Hong, a freelance trader by profession, was jailed three weeks and fined a maximum S$10,000 (US$7,174), while the wife Chong Sui Foon, was jailed three months for failing to provide adequate food to their maid, the Strait Times reported.

The victim Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, who worked for the couple from January 2013 to April 2014, was forced to live on bread and instant noodles twice a day. Her body weight fell to 29 kilograms from 49 kilograms, the court heard.

Gawidan also suffered hair loss and her menstruation stopped due to malnutrition.

According to the TODAY online, the wife was said to suffer from an obsessive-compulsive cleanliness disorder, but District Judge Low Wee Ping said this would not have led her to restrict the type and quantity of food she gave to Gawidan.

The prosecution indicated it may appeal the sentence as it argued for a maximum jail term of 12 months for both Lim and Chong.

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