Ex-prison counsellor who abused maid loses appeal but gets shorter jail term
A woman who was initially sentenced to seven months' jail for abusing her domestic worker lost her appeal against her conviction but had her jail term cut to four months and six weeks by the High Court on Thursday (Dec 30).
Former prison counsellor Gayathri Iyer, 51, who had contested four charges of abusing Myanmar national Thang Khaw Lam, 30, was convicted by a district judge in February of two charges.
Both incidents occurred in 2017 at Gayathri's home at Pebble Bay condominium in Tanjong Rhu Road.
In one incident on Oct 27, the housewife hit the maid's shoulder. Ms Thang Khaw Lam then documented her injuries with a mobile phone.
In the second incident on Dec 7, Gayathri slapped the maid for failing to wake up her son, who was then in national service. The slaps caused the maid to suffer hearing loss for at least a month.
Gayathri was acquitted of the other two charges. She was granted bail pending appeal.
She appealed against the conviction, arguing that there were inconsistencies in the maid's evidence and that the maid's claims of ill treatment did not sit well with the fact that she was given Sundays off every week and was allowed to attend classes on make-up.
Gayathri also argued that the maid had a motive to lie because she had been caught stealing nail polish by the family and was warned that the police would be called if she continued to steal .
On Thursday, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng dismissed the appeal against conviction.
The judge noted that there were "unsatisfactory aspects" of Ms Thang Khaw Lam's evidence in relation to her allegations that she was starving and malnourished, and that she was confined to the flat.
Justice Hoo said the district judge did bear in mind that the maid may not be an entirely credible witness and had acquitted Gayathri on two charges.
However, the maid's evidence on the remaining two charges was consistent with the totality of the circumstances and was corroborated by objective evidence including text messages and photographs.
Justice Hoo added that even if the maid stole the nail polish and was confronted with this, it did not mean that Gayathri did not abuse her.
As for the appeal against sentence, Justice Hoo rejected Gayathri's argument for a nine-week jail term.
However, the judge accepted that the individual jail terms of two months and five months respectively for the two charges, as well as the total term, was manifestly excessive.
Justice Hoo imposed a six-week term for the charge of hitting the maid's shoulder, which was more in line with precedent cases.
She imposed four months' jail for the other charge, after comparing the facts of the case with that of past cases.
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