A recent case of maid abusing a little baby has shocked the island nation. The woman, now sentenced to jail, physically abused the baby under her care with violent acts such as stepping on his leg and pushing his head until he fell.
It was said her abusive actions were due to her unhappy emotional state, which she took out on the the innocent one-year-old boy.
Maid Steps On Baby's Leg And Pushes His Head Until He Falls Over
It was said in court that the maid, Suliana Kasim Dapok, started working for the baby's family back in October 2018. Her employer has four children and her duties included taking care of them.
At around 11am on May 8, last year, the baby was home and vomited on a carpet in the living room. The maid was in the process of cleaning the carpet with detergent when the one-year-old walked towards her.
"As the accused did not want the victim to come into contact with the detergent, the accused elbowed the victim in his face, causing the victim to fall to the floor and cry," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan, according to The Straits Times.
While walking towards the kitchen after wiping the carpet, Suliana thought the baby would grab her leg. Frustrated from having to clean up the mess, she prevented him from doing so by stepping on his right knee which caused the baby to cry even louder.
She continued to abuse the boy 20 minutes later in the living room. The DPP explained that Suliana was sitting on the sofa folding the laundry when she motioned for the child to come over. When he did, she pushed his head, causing him to fall to the floor. Afterwards, she grabbed the baby's leg to pull him towards her so she could check his diapers.
Finally, when she was about to get up from the sofa to put away the folded clothes, the maid stepped on the child's right leg making him cry once again.
Maid Who Abused Baby Gets Sentenced To Jail
On Monday (5 April), Suliana got sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of ill-treating the infant under her care.
Everything she did was caught by a closed-circuit television camera installed inside the flat. The baby's mother alerted the police about her acts of abuse at 1.12pm that day.
Due to a gag order in protecting the child's identity, he can not be named and information about his home has been redacted from court documents. But it was mentioned that he was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital about an hour later (of the incident) and was found with bruising along his spine.
Help To Prevent Further Baby Abuse Cases
This case once again highlights greater need for awareness and attention to child abuse, especially in case of infants.
If you or anyone else you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please report to the police or call 999 in cases of immediate threat. You may also seek help from other helplines listed below:
- NAVH: 1800 777 0000
- AWARE: 1800 777 5555
- Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221 4444
- Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
- Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
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