8 Weeks Jail Time For Maid Who Pushed, Swung Toddler And Stole From Employer

The boy is only 1 year old.

An Indonesian maid, who was said to have ill-treated a 1-year-old boy by swinging him up and down and pushing him on the forehead, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on Monday, 2 March 2020,

The 36-year-old, Susiana, pleaded guilty to the charges, which also included theft from her employer.

Maid Ill Treats Toddler

The incident took place when Susiana, who goes by one name, was in their kitchen cooking when the one-year-old boy came to her crying.

Frustrated, the maid had first used her hand to push back his forehead. From that action, it caused the 1-year-old to fall backwards, and fall to the ground on his bottom. This made the boy cry for another 10 minutes as he sat on the kitchen floor before he stood up on his own.

Maid ill treats toddler: the boy was left crying on the floor and only managed to stand up by himself after 10 minutes. | Photo: iStock

She then grabbed his wrists and lifted him by swinging him in up and down motions, which was reported to reach as high as her chest level.

The boy was observed to be in a distressed state, apart from sustaining a bruise after an examination at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital the next day.

During the court hearing, it was revealed that parts of the act were captured on a CCTV camera which her employer had installed.

8 Weeks Jail Time For Maid Who Pushed, Swung Toddler And Stole From Employer

Black woman in handcuffs

Confronted Maid And Called The Police

After realising that the helper had ill treated the boy, the employer confronted Susiana. She then admitted to her misdeeds.The boy’s grandfather also lodged a police report.

That same day, Susiana was arrested. She was also found to have stolen a couple of her employer’s belongings after the police told her to empty her bag. Again, she admitted to her misdeeds.

Among the items stolen according to court documents are an iPhone 5S, a Samsung mobile phone with cracked screen, a purse and iPhone earphones.

Tried To Defend Herself

In Susiana’s defence, she said that she was the sole breadwinner of the family with three young children to support.

According to her, she had stolen her employer’s mobile phone because she wanted to call her son. She also said that she was “very remorseful” for her misdeeds through an interpreter.

By causing harm to a child, rather than protecting him, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Chan, Susiana was given a deterrent sentence. Such a sentence imposed is to “deter caregivers from inflicting unnecessary physical pain on children”.

Photo: iStock

Signs Of A Bad Maid: When It Is Time To Let Her Go

Are these signs of a bad maid, from what Susiana has displayed?

While can be many reasons to why a maid might act in a certain way, or do something that threatens the harmony of the family, not all point towards signs of a bad maid. Your maid could be just really stressed out, but unable to explain his/her situation to you.

But here are clear-cut signs that you should consider letting her go:

Repeated ignoring or abusing of house rules
Negligence or abuse of a child under her care
No interest in learning her duties
Theft
Repeated lying
Outright defiance/rebellious behaviour/rudeness
Physically unable to handle her job

Or, you just really have a bad feeling—that you cannot explain—towards her.

On the flipside, here are signs of a stressed-out maid:

You catch her snapping at your kids
She is slacking at work, or working really slowly
Her health condition does not seem ideal and she seems to harp on it
You find her starting to show you attitude
She cannot seem to focus at work
You notice she becomes more forgetful and tend to miss out on details

Also READ: A Messy House is a Sign of Brilliance, So Stop Worrying Already!

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Written by

Jia Ling

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