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Woman pleads guilty to maid abuse
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 23 April 2012 1733 hrs
SINGAPORE: A 54-year-old woman pleaded guilty on Monday to abusing her 24-year-old maid.
Lee Meng Choo, who is a teacher, told her Indonesian maid Sri Maryati she had to agree to her punishments when she made mistakes, if she wanted to keep her job.
Lee then put her words into action and caned Ms Sri when she was unhappy with the maid's performance.
The district judge has ordered a pre-sentence report to gauge if Lee is suitable for probation.
The court heard the Junyuan Secondary School teacher was unhappy with the performance of Ms Sri, who had been working for her at her Tampines home since December 2008.
When Lee informed Ms Sri that she planned to send her back to the maid agency, Ms Sri pleaded with her and struck a verbal agreement with her.
She agreed to be caned by Lee if she repeatedly committed similar mistakes.
Investigation revealed that on 9 August 2009, Lee caned Ms Sri for using a toothbrush to clean a basin.
Lee also caned Ms Sri on her lower back and buttocks after discovering the maid did not check on her son's homework.
Ms Sri was again punished after she did not set the alarm clock to the instructed time.
Court documents revealed Lee's abuse included pulling Sri's ear so violently till it bled.
Lee has been suffering from a mental condition called Dysthymia -- a type of depression -- for several years, according to a psychiatric report by Dr Jerome Goh of the Institute of Mental Health and defence psychiatrist Dr Tommy Tan.
Her condition was said to have worsened when she hired Ms Sri and found her performance unsatisfactory.
The court heard Lee is very remorseful and undergoes psychiatric treatment regularly.
She will be sentenced on 23 May.
- CNA/wk
