Mohamad Bin Dahlan and Zariah Bte Mohd Ali and Public Prosecutor

JurisdictionSingapore
JudgeAdam Nakhoda
Judgment Date12 July 2001
Neutral Citation[2001] SGMC 30
Year2001
Published date19 September 2003
Citation[2001] SGMC 30
CourtMagistrates' Court (Singapore)

JUDGMENT:

Grounds of Decision

Introduction

1. Mr. Mohamad bin Dahlan (hereinafter "Mr. Mohamad") pleaded guilty to the following two charges under section 323 read with section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224:

PS 410 of 2001 (P1A),

You,

Mohamad bin Dahlan, M/41 years

NRIC NO: S 1384206-Z

are charged that you, on 13th November 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did voluntarily cause hurt to one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by grabbing and pulling her ears, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

PS 411 of 2001 (P2),

You,

Mohamad bin Dahlan, M/41 years

NRIC NO: S 1384206-Z

are charged that you, on 15th November 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did voluntarily cause hurt to one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by slapping her on the neck, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

2. Mr. Mohamad admitted to a further charge and consented to it being taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. As this charge had an influence on the sentence that I imposed on Mr. Mohamad I will reproduce it here:

You,

Mohamad bin Dahlan, M/41 years

NRIC NO: S 1384206-Z

are charged that you, sometime in the month of October 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did voluntarily cause hurt to one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by slapping her on the left side of her face and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

3. Mdm. Zariah bte Mohd Ali (hereinafter "Mdm. Zariah") pleaded to guilty to the following two charges, one charge under section 352 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224 and another charge under section 323 read with section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224:

PS 412 of 2001 (P1A),

You,

Zariah bte Mohd Ali, FEMALE: 39 years

NRIC NO: S 1477244-H

are charged that you, on 27th September 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did use criminal force on one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by splashing a mug of water at the said Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 352 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

PS 415 of 2001 (P2A),

You,

Zariah bte Mohd Ali, FEMALE: 39 years

NRIC NO: S 1477244-H

are charged that you, on 15th November 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did voluntarily cause hurt to one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by rubbing "sambal goreng" (a sambal dish of chillied soyabean products) into her eyes and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

4. Mdm. Zariah admitted to a further two charges and consented to them being taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. As these charges had an influence on the sentence that I imposed on Mdm. Zariah I will reproduce them here:

You,

Zariah bte Mohd Ali, FEMALE: 39 years

NRIC NO: S 1477244-H

are charged that you, on 27th September 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did voluntarily cause hurt to one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by hitting her head with a mug and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

You,

Zariah bte Mohd Ali, FEMALE: 39 years

NRIC NO: S 1477244-H

are charged that you, on 14th November 2000, at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #11-1051, Singapore, did voluntarily cause hurt to one Tutik Rahayu Binti Purwadi, a domestic maid employed to work in your household, to wit, by hitting her head with your knuckles, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 read with Section 73 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

5. Mr. Mohamad and Mdm. Zariah are married to one another and both reside at the address stated in the charges above. Although Mr. Mohamad and Mdm. Zariah have filed separate appeals I propose to write a combined Grounds of Decision in relation to both the appeals.

Punishment for the offences.

6. The prescribed punishment for voluntarily causing hurt under section 323 read with section 72(3) is a term of imprisonment which may extend to one and a half years, or to a fine which may extend to $1,500 of both. The prescribed punishment for using criminal force under section 352 is a term of imprisonment which may extend to 3 months, or with a fine which may extend to $500, or with both.

The Statement of Facts

7. Mr. Mohamad admitted without qualification the following statement of facts (marked exhibit A):

"Statement of Facts

(PS 410 and 411 of 2001)

The complainant is Tan Siew Chien Agnes, a maid agency owner.

2. The victim is Tutik Rahayu Binte Purwadi. F/25 years, Passport No. – AC262562, Indonesian National.

3. The accused is Mohamad Bin Dahlan, M/41 years, NRIC No:S1384206Z, of Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #11-1051, Singapore.

4. On 17th November 2000 at about 3.50 pm, the complainant lodged a police report of the victim being physically abused by the employer at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #11-1051, Singapore.

5. Investigations revealed that the victim has been working as a domestic maid for the accused and his wife from 22nd September 2000.

Facts Relating to 2nd Charge (PS 410 of 2001)

6. On 13th November 2000, the defendant had a dispute with his wife in the living room of the above-stated address. He then went into the kitchen where the victim was drying a container. He scolded the victim for not drying the container properly and grabbed both the victim’s ears with force. He then pulled the victim’s ears whilst shaking the victim’s head back and forth. He subsequently released her ears and went out of the kitchen. The victim cried as her head hurt and her ears felt hot and painful; and the skin at the back of her ears had been bruised and abraded.

Facts Relating to 3rd Charge (PS 411 of 2001)

7. On 15th November 2000, after the accused and his wife had had dinner, the accused scolded the victim for not cooking the "Nasi Ayam" (Chicken Rice) properly. The accused then made the victim eat up the leftover "Nasi Ayam" which amounted to half a pot. The victim took three hours to eat the "Nasi Ayam" and then told the accused she could eat no more as she felt like vomiting. The accused became angry with her and slapped her on the back of her neck.

8. The next day, the victim escaped from the accused’s flat and sought help from the complainant. She was later referred by the Police to the A&E Department of Changi General Hospital for medical examination on 17 November 2000. Dr June Tan Chieu Har examined her and prepared a Medical Report dated 29 Nov 2000 on the victim showing inter alia the following injuries:-

a) Bruise behind the left ear 1 cm diameter; and

b)Erythema and superficial abrasions behind the right ear.

8. A more detailed description of the injuries above is set out by Dr June Tan in the Police Medical Form for the Complaint of Maid Abuse (attached)."

8. Mdm. Zariah admitted without qualification the following statement of fact (marked exhibit A):

"Statement of Facts

(PS 412 and 415 of 2001)

The complainant is Tan Siew Chien Agnes, a maid agency owner.

2. The victim is Tutik Rahayu Binte Purwadi. F/25 years, Passport No. – AC262562, Indonesian National.

3. The defendant is Zariah Binte Mohd Ali, F/39 years, NRIC No.:-S1477244-H, of Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #11-1051, Singapore.

4. On 17th November 2000 at about 3.50 pm, the complainant lodged a police report of the victim being physically abused by the employer at Block 617 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #11-1051, Singapore.

5. Investigations revealed that the victim has been working as a domestic maid for the accused and her husband from 22nd September 2000.

Facts Relating to 1st Charge (PS 412 of 2001)

6. On 27th September 2000 at night, the defendant told the victim to get a glass of plain water for her daughter. After the victim handed over a mug of plain water at room temperature to the defendant, the later splashed the said mug of plain water at the victim saying that she had got the wrong water. The victim then proceeded to get another mug of water and handed it over to the defendant.

Facts Relating to 4th Charge (PS 415 of 2001)

7. Investigations further revealed that on 15th November 2000, the victim had cooked dinner, one dish of which was ‘sambal goreng’ (sambal dish of chillied soyabean products) for the family. In the evening, after the accused and her husband had eaten, the accused called the victim into the kitchen and scolded the victim for not cooking the ‘sambal goreng’ dish properly. She then scooped up some of the leftover ‘sambal goreng’ and rubbed it with force against and into both of the victim’s eyes. The victim cried in pain from the force of the accused’s fingers against her eyes and also because the chilli in the sambal was burning her eyes and she could not open her eyes to see.

8.The victim subsequently escaped from the accused’s flat on 16 November 2000 and sought help from the complainant. She was later referred by the Police to the A&E Department of Changi General Hospital for medical examination on 17 November 2000. Dr June Tan Chieu Har examined her and prepared a Medical Report dated 29 Nov 2000 on the victim showing inter alia the following injuries:-

Bilateral upper eyelid bruising -

a) right side 1.5 cm X 0.7 cm,

b) left side 1 cm X 0.5 cm.

9. A more detailed description of the injuries above...

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