On the third day of hearing in the case against the employers of Thelma Gawidan, 40, her male boss, Lim Chong Hoon, said his wife, Chong Sui Foon, suffered from anorexia nervosa and was obsessive-compulsive.
Gawidan was allegedly starved and fed only instant noodles twice a day until she ran away in April 2014 weighing only 64 lbs.
Lim cried on the witness stand on Wednesday and revealed that since he traveled a lot for work, he had put his wife in charge of the household.
But Chong’s obssession with cleanliness — he said she treated cleanliness like a religion — meant even Lim chose to use the public toilet at their condominium and the couple camped out in the living room so the bedroom would stay neat.
Gawidan was reportedly not allowed to use the toilet at home and was walked by her female boss to the public toilet when needed.
They also didn’t cook at home because cleaning the kitchen aftewards would take too much time. Chong had an aversion towards food, having suffered from anorexia nervosa as a teen, and eats mainly bread. The couple would only eat twice a day, sometimes only once.
This dysfunctionality eventually drove away their second child, who still hasn’t returned home. But Lim said that his wife was not evil or wicked, reports The Straits Times.
“Although originally fixed for three days, the trial will have to enter into a second tranche, as the defence has three remaining witnesses to call, including Chong. Dates for the second tranche will be decided on Dec 30. The couple are on bail of S$3,000 each,” reports Channel NewsAsia.
If found guilty, Gawidan’s employers may get a 12-month jail time and/or will be fined up to SGD$10,000 or about PHP336,000.
