Woman convicted of forcing maid to pour hot water on herself and drink tainted water
A couple who withheld their Burmese domestic worker’s salary for almost a year were on Friday (18 January) found guilty after a 15-day trial of assaulting the maid over a period of three months in 2016.
Linda Seah Lei Sie, 39, a beauty salon manager at ANew Me Beauty Aesthetic at The Centrepoint, was convicted of six charges of causing hurt to Phyu Phyu Mar, who was employed from February to October 2016.
Her husband, interior designer Lim Toon Leng, 44, was convicted of one similar charge. Lim is a director and shareholder at the salon.
The couple, who have a 5-year-old daughter, are expected to be sentenced on 11 February.
In late August and September 2016, Seah forced Phyu to pour hot water on herself around her left shoulder.
Over the period, Seah also compelled the maid to knock her head on the floor, made her drink water tainted with floor cleaner, and grabbed her by her hair and shook her.
On 13 October 2016, Seah also used a mobile phone to hit Phyu multiple times on the forehead, left eye and left hand. Lim also punched Phyu’s forehead twice on the same day.
The crimes were committed at the couple’s Punggol Walk flat.
During one visit that Phyu made with Seah to the beauty salon, a salon employee saw that Phyu had a swollen left eye and a bruise, and a scald injury on her left shoulder.
The employee later called the police on 14 October 2016. Police officers went to interview Seah and Phyu at the flat.
Lim is out on $5,000 bail while Seah is out on $10,000 bail.
The maximum penalty for causing hurt is up to two years’ jail and a fine of up to $5,000 per charge. If the crime is committed by the employer of a maid or a member of the employer’s household, the perpetrator is liable to one and a half times the punishment.
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