Employers accused of starving maid for 15 months, causing her to go from 49kg to 29kg
THE STAR
Lim Choon Hong (right) and Chong Sui Foon, who failed to provide their former domestic worker with adequate food.ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW.
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean couple claimed trial on Monday (Dec 14) to charges of failing to provide their former Filipino domestic worker with adequate food, causing her weight to drop by 20kg over a 15-month period.
Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, weighed just 29kg when she was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in April last year, compared to 49 kg in Jan 2013.
Her former employer, Lim Choon Hong, 47, faces one charge of contravening Condition 1 in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule to the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012.
Lim's wife, Chong Sui Foon, 47, meanwhile faces a count of abetting Lim in committing the offence.
Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, weighed just 29kg when she was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in April last year, compared to 49 kg in Jan 2013.
Her former employer, Lim Choon Hong, 47, faces one charge of contravening Condition 1 in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule to the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012.
Lim's wife, Chong Sui Foon, 47, meanwhile faces a count of abetting Lim in committing the offence.
A TTSH doctor who attended to Thelma after she was taken to the hospital's emergency department by a shelter on April 29 last year told the court that she had said she was given insufficient food.
She also complained of difficulty sleeping, and had not had her menses for about a year.
When asked about her food intake, she told doctors that she was given two meals a day.
Her ration consisted only of bread and instant noodles.
At a review at the hospital in June last year, after she was discharged, she weighed 43kg.
If convicted, Lim and Chong both face a fine of up to $10,000 (RM30,616), imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. - ThestraitsTimes/ANN
She also complained of difficulty sleeping, and had not had her menses for about a year.
When asked about her food intake, she told doctors that she was given two meals a day.
Her ration consisted only of bread and instant noodles.
At a review at the hospital in June last year, after she was discharged, she weighed 43kg.
If convicted, Lim and Chong both face a fine of up to $10,000 (RM30,616), imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. - ThestraitsTimes/ANN
