A 30-year-old Indonesian domestic worker in Singapore was jailed for eight months by the State Courts on Monday after pleading guilty to causing hurt while she cared for an 89-year-old employer with dementia late last year.
Defendant Yesana Elizabeth Doliab was hired in July to look after an elderly woman named Mary Tan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and lived in an HDB flat in Sengkang with six other family members, Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore) reported.
Between August 1 and September 15, 2017, the elderly woman called the worker “stupid” and pushed her head on some occasions. Doliab, in return, pinched Tan hard on her breast, hip, buttock and back, leaving multiple bruises on her body.
At 10am on Sept 15, while busy lifting the woman from a wheelchair to a bed, Doliab was unaware that Tan’s pyjamas were caught. The latter tried to alert the worker to the problem by pulling her hair, but that angered the maid who then poked the elderly woman in her left eye with her right index finger in revenge.
One of the Tan’s granddaughters returned home after work and was puzzled by her grandmother’s bloodshot red eye. That prompted her to question the caretaker, who denied having anything to do with it.
But the maid was arrested by police around midnight, and later a medical examination report found Tan had endured abuse as she had bruises on her face, arms, lower back and buttock.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Derek Ee called for a sentence of eight months because Tan was a vulnerable victim who had limited mobility and suffered from dementia, which prevented her from remembering being abused.
The maid apologized to her employers through an interpreter, and was seen crying in court.
Difficult circumstances
even though the whole episode started with the old woman knocking the caregiver’s head, the caregiver shall not retaliate. The old woman was a dementia patient and the caregiver was hired to look after her. As the duty of a caregiver is to take care of the patient, dey shall not retaliate. Instead shall have highlighted to the employer. The old woman was a defence less when being abused by the caregiver. This in the eyes of the law, an offence was committed, thus the caregiver was charged and sentenced. the caregiver did not report when the caregiver was hit in the first place. When the old woman was abused, a report was made. This it stands and subsequent resulted in the caregiver being punished.
Sheik Ali u r correct and very well said..agree to u bro,as a maid if incurred any problems with the family of employer must inform them for a solution…or better quit from the job..one more suggestion as the grandmas situation she must be in an orphanage rather than keep on changing maid
8mth very light sentenced ????Should be longer…Served her right????
Served her right
Bhelle Bhong! Did you forget the elderly lady has dementia? Do you know what it means or are you soooo ignorant that you don’t know the meaning of the word?
Orphanage? ????
Last time I take caRe dementia old lady but if you good to them they also behave to you, because even they can’t remember most of the time but they know that you are a good person..be nice to them then your job become easy for you…
Sheik Ali looking after a demetia people is not a joke, if the caregiver has no experience looking after this kind of patient,,,for sure the caregiver well die of depress first or become crazy before the patient,,, the family who has dementia patient should employ the skelled caregiver, not just a house maid.