Public Prosecutor v Brenda Tan Bee Khim

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Loo Ngan Chor
• Judgment Date: 04 May 2009
• Neutral Citation: [2009] SGDC 143
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Year: 2009
• Citation: [2009] SGDC 143
• Plaintiff Counsel: Isaac Tan
• Defendant Counsel: Ranjit Singh
• Published date: 10 December 2009

4 February 2009

District Judge Loo Ngan Chor:

Introduction:

1. The accused, Madam Brenda Tan Bee Khim, claimed trial to an amended charge of causing hurt to a domestic maid, Tasiyem, by pouring hot water onto Tasiyem at about 6am on or about 15^th May 2006, while the accused was a member of Tasiyem’s employer’s household. The offence was one under s324 read with s73(1)(a) and s73(2) of the Penal Code (Cap 224).

2. The trial occupied ten, discontinuous days.

3. The Prosecution led the evidence of four witnesses, namely, Ms Tasiyem (PW1), Dr Siti Muzayyanah (PW2), Dr Sim Guek Gwee (PW3) and S/Sgt William Tan Song Hwee (PW4).

4. Having reviewed the evidence and the parties’ closing submissions and the Defence’s reply submissions, I now give my decision and my reasons.

Common Ground:

5. Tasiyem was employed in the name of Mr Wong, the accused’s husband. She commenced her employment on 15^th June 2004. Tasiyem’s work permit was issued on 10^th June 2004 and was due to expire on 9^th June 2006.[note: 1]

6. In April 2006, the accused set about renewing Tasiyem’s work permit as she had decided to extend Tasiyem’s employment. On 26^th June 2006, JPB Management Services applied on-line, on the accused’s instruction, to renew Tasiyem’s work permit. It was renewed and was then to expire on 24^th April 2008.[note: 2]

7. On 18^th May 2006, Homelines Management Pte Ltd was instructed by the accused to terminate Tasiyem’s renewed work permit. The next day, 19^th May 2006, Tasiyem was sent home to Indonesia.

Sole Issue of Fact:

8. Tasiyem’s burn injuries are graphically captured in a number of photographs. They extend from the back of her neck down to a large portion of her back. Tasiyem’s version of how this happened was that the accused poured hot water over her neck and back at about 6 am on 15^th May 2006. The accused’s version is that Tasiyem accidentally scalded the back of her neck in the morning of 16^th May 2006 when she accidentally struck a table where she had placed a cup of hot water.

9. Apart from the accused’s evidence, her defence witnesses inter alia gave accounts of what Tasiyem allegedly said to them in connection with the cause of the incident. In one instance (Mdm Sim), corroborated the accused’s version that Tasiyem’s injury was minor and located around the back of the neck.

The Case for the Prosecution:

Tasiyem:

10. Tasiyem testified that owing to the accused’s unhappiness that she had left what the accused said were wet clothes on a sofa in the living room, the accused walked into the kitchen of the HDB flat and asked Tasiyem to follow. Pouring hot water from a thermos flask into a plastic cup, the accused tried to force Tasiyem to drink. Twice the accused did this, and twice Tasiyem spat out the hot water.

11. The accused then took an electric kettle, filled it with water and switched it on to boil. As Tasiyem cleaned the spat water on the kitchen floor, the family’s dogs started making a noise in the converted balcony. Tasiyem went out intending to pacify them. On the way there, Tasiyem stopped at a spot marked “X” in the living room of the flat, shown photograph P6(4), to pick up a tin of dog food. She heard a click sound of the electric kettle as she headed to the converted balcony when the water had boiled.[note: 3]

12. As she bent over to pick up the tin, she felt a hot sensation on the nape of her neck and on her back. She turned around and saw the accused holding a ceramic cup. Tasiyem cried out “hot, hot”. The obvious inference from this allegation was that the accused had poured hot water from the ceramic cup onto Tasiyem.

13. When that incident happened, the two sons and an infant daughter of the accused were not present. Neither was the accused’s husband, Mr Wong Soon Meng. The foursome made up the family in the flat.

14. Tasiyem retreated to the converted balcony where she cried. Later, the accused came and squeezed some toothpaste onto her palm and asked her to apply it to her burn.

15. Tasiyem then woke the two boys and saw them off to school, returning at about 6.45am. Mr Wong headed off to work at about 8am. Later, the accused came out of the bedroom and lifted up Tasiyem’s T-shirt to check her back. The accused remarked that the injury was serious. She instructed Tasiyem to go to the bathroom to clean up the skin, to remove the peeled skin.

16. In the bathroom, Tasiyem inspected her back with the aid of a mirror. The back was all red, swollen and ‘watery’, skin had peeled (which she removed except the parts that were painful to remove). She used no water on her back as it made her painful.

17. After Tasiyem had got into a clean T-shirt, the accused tried to apply cream on her back in the accused’s bedroom. As the pain was quite bad, Tasiyem begged the accused to stop.

18. Tasiyem said that she first learnt from the accused that she was returning to Indonesia on 19^th May 2006, that is, the day she was scheduled to depart. In between, the accused did not take her to see a doctor. Neither did Tasiyem ask to see a doctor because she said that the accused had told her that if she were brought to a hospital, the police would come to know.[note: 4] Tasiyem did not tell anyone in Singapore about the incident because the accused had told her that she was not allowed to do so.[note: 5]

19. Tasiyem said that she was surprised when told on 19^th May that she would be going home. She said that there had been no prior inkling of this move by the accused and her work permit had only just been renewed. She wondered why the accused was sending her home. But she also privately thought that this was for the better as she was receiving no medical treatment in Singapore.[note: 6] The accused had chosen the clothes (exhibit P13) Tasiyem was to wear for the flight, comprising a T-shirt, a jacket, a long skirt and a scarf around the neck.

20. On 19^th May 2006, Tasiyem said that no-one had spoken to her about her injuries. Between 15^th May and 19^th May 2006, no-one apart from the accused had spoken to her about her going home to Indonesia.

21. Tasiyem arrived in Semarang at about 7.15pm. Having spent the night in a bus terminus, she arrived in her village, Kebumen, the next morning. Family and neighbours of the village had gathered around as they had had no news of her since she came to Singapore two years before. But, when her mother hugged her, Tasiyem said it was painful. She explained and her injuries were inspected.

22. The deputy chief of the village took pictures (exhibit P9(1) to 9(5)) of Tasiyem’s wounds[note: 7]. These were admitted at a later stage of the proceedings when the learned defence counsel withdrew his objection in response to a question from me.[note: 8]

23. Tasiyem was admitted into an Indonesian hospital, PKU Muhammadiyah Gombong, where she stayed from 20^th to 26^th May 2006. The photographs (collectively, P9) taken of her were handed over to the maid agency in Jakarta and eventually the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore. Tasiyem was fetched back from her home to Singapore. By their letter dated 2^nd June 2006, the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore reported the alleged abuse to the Bedok Police Division Headquarters (P10). On 14^th June 2006, Tasiyem was brought back to the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore by an official of the Embassy. The police referred her to Changi General Hospital for an examination.

24. Under cross-examination, so far as material, Tasiyem was challenged on whether she had in fact told the accused, the accused’s father, Mr Tan[note: 9]s husband, Mr Wong that she had accidentally scalded herself on 16^th May 2006. It was alleged that she knew beforehand that she was returning to Indonesia on 19^th May 2006 and had gone on 18^th May 2006 with the accused, the accused’s daughter and Mdm Sim to collect her flight ticket. She was challenged on whether there was any electric kettle in the house.[note: 10] Tasiyem was also questioned on the number of dogs in the household from time to time[note: 11] and whether she had spoken to the accused’s father, Mdm Sim[note: 12]and Mdm Ng.

25. Tasiyem was not challenged on whether the injuries shown collectively in P9 were the result of burns at the accused’s flat, whether on 15^th May 2006, which was Tasiyem’s position, or on 16^th May 2006, which was the accused’s position. It was alleged that Tasiyem inflicted injuries on herself in the past when she made mistakes. [note: 13]As will be seen below, it was in fact the defence case that Tasiyem’s injuries were only on the back of the neck and that it happened accidentally on 16^th May 2006 when no-one was at home. Tasiyem was not asked why she would make a false allegation against the accused, even though I prompted counsel to do so and he had a brief word with the accused[note: 14]. Tasiyem was only asked if she wanted to borrow $2000/= from the accused for her mother on 18^th May 2006.[note: 15]

26. Counsel also spent much time cross-examining Tasiyem about the issue of whether her salaries had been paid during her employment by the accused.[note: 16] The letter from the Embassy had alleged that no salary had been paid Tasiyem throughout her employment. Counsel referred Tasiyem to D4, which purported to be a document which showed that Tasiyem had been paid her salaries. Tasiyem’s position was that the accused forced her to sign D4 on 19^th May 2006 before she left, although she could not remember how many signatures were made on that day.[note: 17]

Dr Siti:

27. Dr Siti is from Indonesia, the head of the Medical Section at PKU Muhammadiyah Gombong Hospital, has practised medicine since 1992. She confirmed inter alia that Tasiyem was admitted to the hospital from 20^th to 26^th May 2006 for treatment for her burns. On 26^th May 2006, Tasiyem decided to leave the hospital, in effect, against doctors’ advice.

28. Tasiyem was seen by different doctors during her stay at the hospital. Dr Siti personally attended to Tasiyem on the last three days of her stay at the hospital.

29. Dr Siti...