After getting jail sentences for their severe mistreatment of an Indonesian domestic helper, a Singaporean couple could be serving even more time in prison for abusing their second domestic helper, who’s from Myanmar.
Tay Wee Kiat, 41, and his wife Chia Yun Ling, 43, have been found guilty of multiple charges of abuse against Moe Moe Than, according to Yahoo News Singapore. The 31-year-old maid had been subjected to a series of savage physical mistreatment, including being forced to eat her own vomit.
Chia, a mother of three, was found guilty of eight assault charges and one count of using abusive words towards the Moe Moe Than, as well as six offenses under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Her husband was convicted of six assault charges.
Moe Moe Than had worked for the couple between Jan 8, 2012 and Nov 12, 2012 — a traumatic period of time that only ended when the domestic helper sought help from her Myanmar agent when she returned to Yangon. The agent’s counterpart in Singapore was alerted, and a police report was lodged.
Investigations revealed a sickening picture of what went on in Chia and Tay’s flat in Yishun. According to Yahoo’s court report, Moe Moe Than testified that she was required to wake up at 5:30am daily and could only go to sleep after midnight. She would be slapped if she overslept, which happened a number of times.
Her meals consisted of rice and cabbage, which was reduced to just plain rice and water later on. When the maid told Chia that she had not been given enough food, the Singaporean forced a funnel into Moe Moe Than’s mouth and pushed a mixture of rice and sugar into her.
This caused the maid to vomit, and Chia responded by scolding and slapping her. She then forced Moe Moe Than to puke into a plastic bag and ordered her to eat her own vomit. The maid complied.
Another ghastly occasion saw Chia forcing the helper to remove her shorts and underwear. She used a cane to hit her bare buttocks — Chia’s punishment after she found some dusty plastic boxes.
When Chia caught Moe Moe Than looking at herself in the mirror, she dragged the maid by her hair, pushed her to the floor, and stepped on her chest. The woman had also forced the maid to perform chores in her bra and short pants.
Her husband would also dole out savagery. Tay caned the Myanmar maid on her head when his daughter refused to study.
The Indonesian maid
The couple had a 34-year-old Indonesian domestic helper as well who worked in the same flat as Moe Moe Than. Fitriyah had worked for the monstrous couple for two years until December 2012.
She too was subjected to abuse. Once, Tay forced both his domestic helpers to assume push-up positions before kicking them. The father had been angered over his daughter’s performance in a school paper.
According to The Straits Times, Tay had also ordered Moe Moe Than and Fitriyah to slap each other 10 times after he claimed that they moved a piece of cloth on an altar table without his permission. He also ordered them to worship in front of the altar table 100 times despite Moe Moe Than being a Christian and Fitriyah being a Muslim.
Accumulative jail terms
For their series of abuse against Fitriyah, Chia and Tay had already been sentenced in court back in March 2017. Tay was slapped with three years and seven months in jail, while his wife was given a two-month jail term for committing assault.
The couple remained free until the trial for their abuse of Moe Moe Than began. They are expected to be sentenced on March 18.
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