Domestic worker gets jail for punching non-verbal autistic child at least 23 times

The 29-year-old woman also recorded videos of the family’s three children naked in the toilet and sent them to her husband “to show him how mischievous the victims were”.

The State Courts of Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

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SINGAPORE: A domestic worker was sentenced to three years’ jail on Friday (Oct 30) for repeatedly abusing a four-year-old autistic child in her care, including punching him at least 23 times.

She was also punished for recording obscene videos of the family’s three children, including the boy’s seven-year-old sister and one-year-old brother, and sending them to her husband.

The 29-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her victims, kicked the four-year-old boy’s head twice in a separate incident.

About a month after she started working for the family, she also used a handheld shower head to spray water directly onto the one-year-old boy’s face for 16 seconds, causing him to flinch and cry.

The woman was arrested in March after her employer found videos and photographs of the abuse and his naked children on her phone.

Investigations uncovered four videos and two still images of the children naked in the unit’s toilet.

She had sent two of the videos and both images to her husband “to show him how mischievous the victims were”, the court heard.

The Indonesian national started working for the household in January. According to court documents, she abused the boy because she was feeling tired and frustrated from caring for him.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Riasudeen asked for 35 to 41 months’ jail for the woman, highlighting that she repeatedly punched the boy even as he was trying to shield himself.

She removed his hands to continue the assault and the video she recorded showed that she was using a considerable amount of force, he said.

The boy was non-verbal and “entirely unable” to seek help or report the abuse to his parents, which made him "more defenceless" than another child his age, the prosecution stressed.

The woman's decision to record the abuse demonstrated a “chilling indifference” to the victim's pain and suffering, Mr Riasudeen said. Feeling tired and frustrated from caring for the boy did not justify her actions, he added.

While the prosecution and defence agreed that the videos of the naked children were not taken with any intention for sexual gratification, Mr Riasudeen argued that the fact that the woman's position as their caregiver was an aggravating factor.

He also noted that her husband could have forwarded the videos to other people.

The woman’s lawyer, Mr Ariffin Sha, who represented her pro bono under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, argued for two years and 10.5 months' jail for her.

He did not dispute the prosecution’s sentencing arguments for the abuse charges, but argued that her obscene videos of the children were not the “archetypal offence” for sexual gratification.

Mr Ariffin, of Shehzhadee Law Corporation, said the woman wanted to place her unqualified apology to the victims and their family on record.

Despite the stress and her two requests to transfer out of the job before these incidents, the woman recognised that these factors do not excuse her actions, he added.

Laying out the woman’s sentence, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz highlighted that the child was non-verbal – he could not speak for himself, ask for help, or tell others about the abuse.

“There are few betrayals of trust more disturbing than the abuse of a child by the very person entrusted with his care,” she said, noting that this case was particularly troubling because the main victim was a child with special needs.

The judge acknowledged the physical and emotional demands of caregiving but stressed that such difficulties could never justify abusing a child.

“Stress is not a license for violence nor is frustration an excuse for cruelty,” she said.

The sentence would have been “considerably higher” if there were evidence of physical injury to the victims, the judge added.

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这名 29 岁的女子还拍摄了家中三个孩子赤身裸体待在厕所的视频，并将它们发送给丈夫，“让他看看孩子们有多调皮”。

新加坡国家法院。（资料照片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：一名家庭佣工因多次虐待其照顾的四岁自闭症儿童，包括至少殴打该儿童 23 次，于周五（10 月 30 日）被判处三年监禁。

她还因拍摄家中三个孩子的淫秽视频（包括男孩七岁的姐姐和一岁的弟弟）并发送给丈夫而受到惩罚。

为了保护受害者的身份，这名 29 岁的女子不能透露姓名。在另一起事件中，她曾两次踢打一名四岁男孩的头部。

在她开始为这家人工作大约一个月后，她还用手持花洒直接向一岁男孩的脸上喷水 16 秒，导致男孩畏缩哭泣。

今年三月，这名女子因雇主在其手机中发现虐待儿童的视频和照片以及他赤身裸体的孩子的照片而被捕。

调查发现了四段视频和两张儿童裸体出现在该单元厕所的照片。

法庭获悉，她将其中两段视频和两张图片发送给了她的丈夫，“让他看看受害者有多么调皮捣蛋”。

这名印尼籍女子于今年1月开始在该家庭工作。根据法庭文件，她虐待这名男孩是因为照顾他让她感到疲惫和沮丧。

副检察官穆罕默德·里亚苏丁要求判处该女子 35 至 41 个月监禁，并强调该女子多次殴打男孩，即使男孩试图保护自己。

他说，她掰开他的手继续施暴，她拍摄的视频显示她使用了相当大的力气。

检方强调，这名男孩不会说话，也“完全无法”寻求帮助或向父母报告虐待行为，这使他比同龄的其他孩子“更加无助”。

里亚苏丁先生表示，这名女子决定录下虐待过程，表明她对受害者的痛苦和折磨“冷漠无情”。他还补充说，即使她因为照顾男孩而感到疲惫和沮丧，也不能成为她这种行为的理由。

虽然控辩双方都同意拍摄裸体儿童的视频并非出于性满足的目的，但里亚苏丁先生辩称，该女子作为儿童监护人的身份是一个加重情节。

他还指出，她的丈夫也可能将这些视频转发给了其他人。

该女子的律师阿里芬·沙先生根据刑事法律援助计划为她提供免费法律援助，并辩称应判处她两年零十个月的监禁。

他没有反驳检方对虐待指控的量刑论点，但辩称她拍摄的儿童淫秽视频并非满足性欲的“典型犯罪”。

谢赫扎迪律师事务所的阿里芬先生表示，这名女子希望将她对受害者及其家人的毫无保留的道歉记录在案。

他补充说，尽管压力巨大，而且在这些事件发生之前她曾两次要求调离工作岗位，但该女子认识到这些因素并不能成为她行为的借口。

地区法官沙米拉·斯里帕蒂-沙纳兹在宣判该女子的刑罚时强调，这名儿童不会说话——他无法为自己说话，无法寻求帮助，也无法告诉其他人他所遭受的虐待。

“没有什么比受托照顾孩子的人虐待孩子更令人不安的背信弃义了，”她说，并指出此案尤其令人担忧，因为主要受害者是一名有特殊需要的儿童。

法官承认照顾儿童在身心方面都面临着诸多挑战，但强调这些困难绝不能成为虐待儿童的理由。

“压力不是暴力的借口，挫折也不是残忍的借口，”她说。

法官补充说，如果受害者受到身体伤害的证据确凿，那么判决结果将会“高得多”。

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