Couple facing 7 charges for alleged maid abuse plead not guilty
A Singaporean couple have been accused of repeatedly abusing their Burmese domestic worker over a period of three months last year.
Lim Toon Leng, 43, and his wife Seah Lei Sie Linda, 38, appeared in the State Courts on Monday (8 January). The businessman and businesswoman pleaded not guilty to the total of seven charges they face over their alleged actions against Phyu Phyu Mar.
Seah faces five charges of voluntarily causing hurt and one charge of causing hurt by means of poison. The list of Seah’s alleged acts includes instigating Phyu Phyu to pour hot water on herself on two occasions, grabbing her by the hair and shaking her, hitting her head and eye with a mobile phone, and making her drink water mixed with floor cleaner.
Lim faces one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by allegedly punching Phyu Phyu twice on the forehead. The prosecution is proceeding on all charges.
The offences against Phyu Phyu were said to have been committed between August and October 2016.
The first witness to take the stand on Monday was Lee Lee Yen, a Malaysian former employee at Anew Me, a spa run by Seah.
Lee, who was then employed by Seah as an administrative worker and first met Phyu Phyu in February 2016, told the court that Seah would bring Phyu Phyu along to help with chores around the shop.
During their initial encounter, Lee found Phyu Phyu to be quite chatty and “a bit chubby”. By August or September that year, however, Lee observed that Phyu Phyu had lost weight and was not eating meals at the shop as often as before.
“She told me she had no food to eat and was hungry,” said Lee, adding that she would secretly give Phyu Phyu biscuits and drinks, which the latter would consume very quickly.
Lee told the court that in September last year, another colleague informed her that Phyu Phyu had been scalded by hot water. Seah also instructed Lee not to talk to Phyu Phyu when the latter came to the shop.
On 14 October 2016, Lee observed that Phyu Phyu had a swollen left eye. When Lee inquired about it, Phyu Phyu showed her an injury on her left shoulder, which looked like it had been scalded.
“It was still very red and the skin was starting to peel off,” said Lee. Phyu Phyu also told Lee that Seah had made her pour hot water on herself.
Phyu Phyu said she hoped to continue working with Seah but asked Lee to tell Seah “not to treat her in that way”. She also told Lee that she was not performing well in her work and felt that Seah was punishing her.
“I was wondering if she was ill-treated,” said Lee, who lodged a police report that same day. She told the police about the bruises and scalding marks she had seen, and that Phyu Phyu had not been given food for three days.
The day after the report was lodged, Seah called the shop and asked if Lee was the one who lodged a police report against her. Lee denied doing so as she was afraid that she would lose her job.
Lee quit her job at Anew Me shortly after making the police report and returned to Malaysia.
The first tranche of the trial continues until Tuesday, while the second tranche will run from 3-6 April. Yahoo News Singapore understands that the Phyu Phyu is currently staying at a shelter in Singapore.
Seah is represented by Jocinda Wong and Kasturibai Manickam, while Lim is represented by T. U. Naidu.
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