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SINGAPORE: The 23-year-old domestic helper from Indonesia got along so well with her new employers that she called them Bapak and Ibu (“father” and “mother” in Malay).
But barely three weeks into her new job, Bapak started “bothering” her by brushing against her buttocks with his hand. A few days later, he took the maid’s underwear from the laundry line and licked it “like a dog", she told the court.
Saffie Supa’at, 51, was sentenced to 14 months and two weeks’ jail on Thursday (Nov 2) after he was found guilty of six charges: Four for molesting the maid and two for insulting her modesty.
Saffie, who used to be an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer but is now unemployed, was convicted of the charges after a four-day trial.
The maid cannot be named to protect her identity.
She started working for Saffie’s family on Dec 14, 2015. Saffie molested her for the first time about three weeks later, while his wife was at work.
The victim was frightened, but kept mum because she did not want to be the “destroyer of the home", a court heard.
A few days later, while she was doing the laundry, Saffie asked her if the panties hanging outside the flat belonged to her. He licked them, the victim testified during Saffie's trial, saying the sight disturbed her so much she felt like vomiting.
The following week, Saffie took the maid to a shop where he bought her five pairs of panties. When they got home later that day, he molested her again.
On separate occasions, Saffie also rubbed himself against the victim and asked her questions such as whether she had a boyfriend in Indonesia. He also made several lewd suggestions.
The victim made it clear to Saffie’s wife that she wanted to leave, although she did not explain why.
While the victim was at the supermarket on Jan 30, 2016, Saffie’s wife went through her belongings and found a notebook in which she had penned a cry for help. It was a note addressed to the couple’s eldest son, alleging his father had “touched” her.
Angered, Saffie’s wife threw the notebook away.
When the victim returned home, she confronted her and threatened to make a police report against her, but the maid maintained she was telling the truth.
Saffie’s wife later confronted him and they decided to send the victim back to the maid agency.
Two days later on Feb 1, 2016, the victim ran away. She went to Hougang Primary School, which is close to Saffie’s flat, where she met an acquaintance. She confided in the woman, a fellow domestic helper, then made a police report on the same day.
ACCUSED SHOWED "BLATANT LACK OF REMORSE": PROSECUTOR
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy urged the court to sentence Saffie to at least 16 months’ jail.
Saffie had taken advantage of the young woman, who had never left Indonesia prior to working in Singapore, and who had no friends and no one to confide in about what he had done to her, Ms Uthrapathy said.
The prosecutor also pointed to Saffie’s “blatant lack of remorse” and the fact that he had “wasted no time in embarking on a campaign of sexual harassment against the victim", soon after she started working for him.
Ms Uthrapathy also slammed the defence for “scandalising the very girl (Saffie) had so callously assaulted”. The defence had suggested the victim had romantic feelings for Saffie.
Two more charges of insulting the victim’s modesty by exposing his private part to her were considered during sentencing.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/man-jailed-14-5-months-for-molesting-maid-9368716
But barely three weeks into her new job, Bapak started “bothering” her by brushing against her buttocks with his hand. A few days later, he took the maid’s underwear from the laundry line and licked it “like a dog", she told the court.
Saffie Supa’at, 51, was sentenced to 14 months and two weeks’ jail on Thursday (Nov 2) after he was found guilty of six charges: Four for molesting the maid and two for insulting her modesty.
Saffie, who used to be an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer but is now unemployed, was convicted of the charges after a four-day trial.
The maid cannot be named to protect her identity.
She started working for Saffie’s family on Dec 14, 2015. Saffie molested her for the first time about three weeks later, while his wife was at work.
The victim was frightened, but kept mum because she did not want to be the “destroyer of the home", a court heard.
A few days later, while she was doing the laundry, Saffie asked her if the panties hanging outside the flat belonged to her. He licked them, the victim testified during Saffie's trial, saying the sight disturbed her so much she felt like vomiting.
The following week, Saffie took the maid to a shop where he bought her five pairs of panties. When they got home later that day, he molested her again.
On separate occasions, Saffie also rubbed himself against the victim and asked her questions such as whether she had a boyfriend in Indonesia. He also made several lewd suggestions.
The victim made it clear to Saffie’s wife that she wanted to leave, although she did not explain why.
While the victim was at the supermarket on Jan 30, 2016, Saffie’s wife went through her belongings and found a notebook in which she had penned a cry for help. It was a note addressed to the couple’s eldest son, alleging his father had “touched” her.
Angered, Saffie’s wife threw the notebook away.
When the victim returned home, she confronted her and threatened to make a police report against her, but the maid maintained she was telling the truth.
Saffie’s wife later confronted him and they decided to send the victim back to the maid agency.
Two days later on Feb 1, 2016, the victim ran away. She went to Hougang Primary School, which is close to Saffie’s flat, where she met an acquaintance. She confided in the woman, a fellow domestic helper, then made a police report on the same day.
ACCUSED SHOWED "BLATANT LACK OF REMORSE": PROSECUTOR
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy urged the court to sentence Saffie to at least 16 months’ jail.
Saffie had taken advantage of the young woman, who had never left Indonesia prior to working in Singapore, and who had no friends and no one to confide in about what he had done to her, Ms Uthrapathy said.
The prosecutor also pointed to Saffie’s “blatant lack of remorse” and the fact that he had “wasted no time in embarking on a campaign of sexual harassment against the victim", soon after she started working for him.
Ms Uthrapathy also slammed the defence for “scandalising the very girl (Saffie) had so callously assaulted”. The defence had suggested the victim had romantic feelings for Saffie.
Two more charges of insulting the victim’s modesty by exposing his private part to her were considered during sentencing.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/man-jailed-14-5-months-for-molesting-maid-9368716
