Maid jailed for repeatedly hitting 19-month-old baby with hanger
SINGAPORE — A 27-year-old maid from Myanmar repeatedly tried to stop a baby from crying to no avail, a court heard.
Frustrated, War War Myint Aung used a clothes hanger to hit the 19-month-old boy multiple times all over his body.
The child’s parents returned home from work to find bruises on him, but the maid claimed that the boy had a fall.
At the State Courts on Thursday (6 February), War War was jailed for six months after she pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating a child.
Boy wouldn’t stop crying
On 12 April last year, the baby’s parents left home for work, leaving him in the care of the maid.
She fed the child lunch at about 1pm and he started crying while she was washing the dishes.
“The accused carried the victim to make him stop crying but to no avail,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Yu Hui.
“The accused decided to change the victim’s diapers but the victim continued crying even after his diapers were changed. The accused carried the victim again but he continued to cry,” the prosecutor added.
War War then took a clothes hanger from the toilet, held the baby by his hand and hit him multiple times with the hanger.
“The victim moved around to avoid getting hit but the accused continued to hit him. The accused placed the hanger in the balcony after beating the victim,” said DPP Lim.
Parents found multiple bruises
The child’s mother came home from work to find bruises on his right cheek. When asked about it, War War lied that the boy had a fall while she was in the toilet.
Shortly after, the child’s father found injuries on his back. When confronted, War War maintained that he had a fall.
The boy’s parents then called the police and officers placed the maid under arrest when they arrived.
A doctor at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital found multiple linear bruises ranging from 2cm to 4cm over the child’s back and arms. The clinical diagnosis was non-accidental injury.
In sentencing War War, District Judge Marvin Bay said, “A deterrent sentence is called for in this instance to ensure that all caregivers give pause before resorting to the infliction of violence to young children under their care.”
He also noted that the child would carry not just physical injuries, but also emotional and psychological scars from the abuse.
For her crime under the Children and Young Persons Act, she could have been fined up to $4,000 and also jailed up to four years.
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