Maid was forced to escape in the night from abusive employer

A domestic worker from Myanmar was forced to flee from her employer and spend the night outdoors after suffering physical and emotional abuse, a court in Singapore heard on Wednesday.

Working overseas for the first time, the maid was rescued by a member of the public, who helped her make a report to police.

A Malaysian-born housewife with the surname Lee, whose has permanent residency in Singapore, pleaded guilty to six charges of abuse that occurred from July 25 to August 6, 2016, Shin Min Daily News reported. She was jailed for two weeks.

The court was told that the maid had started her employment at an apartment in Block 181 on Bedok North Road on July 23 and the abuse began several days later when Lee, 33, struck her on the forehead and stepped on her feet.

On July 28, Lee came to check on the maid’s work as she was using a 25-centimeter-long brush to clean the toilet walls. Dissatisfied with the way she was working, Lee showed her how she wanted the wall cleaned and then rubbed the dirty brush against the maid’s neck.

The employer again approached the maid one other day and slapped her across the face, saying that she had to remain vigilant at work.

There was another incident at noon on August 6, when Lee told the maid to take some freshly-washed clothes back inside after she had finished hanging them up. When the maid failed to respond to a request to give way, Lee pinched her arms and grabbed her hands.

A defense lawyer asked for leniency for Lee on the grounds that she had been diagnosed with depression and was remorseful for her actions. The lawyer noted that the maid’s poor command of English had made communications difficult.

Lee agreed to compensate the maid for the abuse she had endured.