Pregnant maid jailed for threatening employer with knife
A pregnant domestic worker threatened her employer with a knife to get her passport back as she wanted to return home.
Poniyem, 41, an Indonesian, was hired by her employer, 44, in April this year.
She was supposed to work for the family for two years.
But in May, Poniyem informed her employer she was pregnant, and she wanted to stop working in Singapore.
She had got married earlier this year, before coming to work here.
The employer asked Poniyem to wait until a replacement maid could be found, as the maid agency was unable to get any replacements until after Hari Raya Puasa in June.
Poniyem then hatched a plan to escape.
On May 21, she poured oil outside the door of her employer's room. She lured her employer out on the pretext of having a stomachache.
When her employer came out, Poniyem pulled her, causing her to slip on the oil and fall. Poniyem then took a spray can of insecticide and sprayed it at her employer's face.
Her employer shouted for her eight-year-old daughter to call the police. But Poniyem took a pair of scissors from the kitchen, grabbed the girl's hair and pointed the scissors at her throat to stop her from doing so.
Poniyem later released the girl, but took out a knife from her back pocket and pointed it at her employer. She demanded her passport and some money to flee the country. Her employer then handed over the passport and $200.
To prevent her employer from calling the police, Poniyem also took her employer's two mobile phones and pulled out the home phone cable before leaving. Poniyem did so while still holding on to the knife and disposed of it only after she left the unit.
She took a taxi to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, where she was arrested.
Yesterday, Poniyem, who is currently six months' pregnant, was jailed four months for theft and causing hurt.
Another charge of criminal intimidation was taken into consideration.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
