Public Prosecutor v Chan Jin Man

JurisdictionSingapore
JudgeEric Tin Keng Seng
Judgment Date17 December 2002
Neutral Citation[2002] SGMC 26
Published date19 September 2003
Year2002
Citation[2002] SGMC 26
CourtMagistrates' Court (Singapore)

Judgment

GROUNDS OF DECISION

Yesterday, Chan Jin Man ("Chan") pleaded guilty before me to an amended charge under s 323 read with s 73(2) of the Penal Code, Cap. 224. The charge stated that on 3 October 2001 some time in the morning at Blk 129 Clarence Lane #19-44, Singapore, Chan voluntarily caused hurt to one Kesi Rusik by slapping her face (marked P1A).

2 Chan understood the nature and consequences of her plea. She also admitted without any qualification to the following material facts (marked A). At the material time, Kesi Rusik was a domestic maid employed by Chan’s husband. On 4 October 2001, at about 11.29 am, Kesi Rusik was found lying at the ground floor of Blk 129 Clarence Lane and pronounced dead by ambulance personnel. An autopsy report on the deceased revealed that death was caused by multiple injuries consistent with a fall from a height. On 21 November 2002, the State Coroner entered a verdict of "Suicide" concerning Kesi Rusik’s death.

3 Investigation revealed that Kesi Rusik had been working for Chan’s household since 20 August 2001. In the course of investigating into her death, the present offence was disclosed. Investigation further revealed that on 3 October 2001, some time in the morning, Chan confronted Kesi Rusik regarding her work performance and the latter replied to Chan sternly. Out of frustration, Chan slapped Kesi Rusik once on the face as she felt that the latter did not show any respect to her.

4 Chan admitted and consented to have another charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Kesi Rusik taken into consideration for sentence (marked P2). Chan had also slapped Kesi Rusik’s face. This offence was committed on 4 October 2001 at about 8 am.

5 The learned DPP confirmed that the finding of the autopsy report was inconclusive on whether any injuries were sustained from the two incidents of hurt.

Antecedent and mitigation

6 Chan is 31 years old. This is her first brush with the law.

7 In a written mitigation plea (marked B), learned counsel outlined the events leading up to the offences. He pointed out that Chan has a hitherto unblemished record, has pleaded guilty, and cooperated fully with the authorities. He also indicated that the prosecution would not be submitting on sentence, which was confirmed by the learned DPP.

Sentencing considerations

8 This is yet another unfortunate and tragic case involving a domestic maid.

9 The manner of causing hurt in this case was that of slapping with bare hands. Unfortunately, the nature and extent of injuries, if any, on Kesi Rusik following the slapping could not be ascertained at post-mortem. We also could not infer...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT