Woman jailed for burning maid with heated metal spoon
She was jailed 20 months after pleading guilty to three counts of voluntarily causing hurt
She brutally abused her maid just one month after the Myanmar national started working for her.
On two occasions, Zinnerah Abdul Majeed, now 28, used a heated metal spoon to burn Ms May Thu Phyo, causing multiple second-degree burns that were likely to leave permanent scars.
Between late August and Sept 3 last year, Zinnerah hit the maid with a bicycle lock, a metal belt buckle, a television remote control, a bamboo pole and the handle of a butter knife.
She also punched her face and kicked her back and waist twice.
The mother of three young children was jailed 20 months yesterday after pleading guilty to three counts of voluntarily causing hurt. Six similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Ms May Thu Phyo, 23, was employed by Zinnerah's husband, Mr Mohammed Yazar Arafat Abbas Manthiri, and she started working in their 11th-storey flat at Block 653, Yishun Avenue 4, on July 28 last year.
About a month later, the maid accidentally broke a cup while washing some utensils in the kitchen.
When Zinnerah found out, she took a metal spoon, heated it over a stove and used it to burn her victim on both her forearms.
On another occasion that month, she used a bicycle lock to hit Ms May Thu Phyo's arms after the latter lost a trolley.
LEFTOVER FOOD
The court heard that Mr Yazar gave the maid some leftover food to eat on Sept 1 last year.
Zinnerah found out Ms May Thu Phyo had eaten the food and confronted her.
When the maid remained silent, Zinnerah heated a metal spoon over the stove and used it to burn the left side of her face.
Unable to tolerate any more abuse, Ms May Thu Phyo ran away from the flat three days later.
A passer-by found her in a state of distress at the void deck of another block of flats in the neighbourhood and called the police.
Ms May Thu Phyo was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where she was found with multiple bruises on her face, arms and shoulders.
She also had multiple second-degree burn wounds on her face and hands.
For each count of maid abuse, Zinnerah could have been jailed up to 10½ years and fined.
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