Singapore: A household worker who was a bit and squeezed an 11 month old child that she took care of was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday (Feb 6).

Myanmar National, 24, which cannot be named because of a gag order to protect the victim’s identity, relied on three accusations of not treating a child who was under her care.

Deputy Prosecutor J. Jayaletchmi said that the helper’s employer noticed a bite mark on his son’s left arm on November 6, 2024.

When she asked her about this, the worker claimed that the child would sometimes bite himself, which could have caused the mark.

The domestic worker then admitted that she had bitten the child when she was frustrated over him for refusing to sleep and admitted that the bite had left a bruise.

It was not mentioned in the court, which is why she had admitted what she had done or continued to work in the same household.

Two weeks later, on November 20, the helper told her employer that she had found a bite mark on the child’s right arm while she bathed him. When the child’s mother asked her about it, she said she didn’t know how it had happened.

The child’s mother then checked the pictures from a TV camera with a closed circuit in the house.

She saw that on November 19, the perpetrator had picked up the child from his cot when he woke up crying. The child was seen from her and quarreled.

The mother suspected that the help had squeezed the child and confronted her about it.

The domestic worker then admitted to having dressed the child twice at the waist when she was frustrated that he would not sleep. She also admitted that she bits her arm on another occasion.

The child’s mother warned the police on November 24.

DPP Jayaletchmi applied for 16 to 20 months in prison and said that the victim was extremely young and vulnerable and was completely defenseless against the domestic worker.

She added: “The accused was quoted the victim’s parents to take care of the victim, but she abused this position of trust to physically abuse him instead. This must be fulfilled with a strong condemnation of the law. “

In Mitigation, the helper apologized for her actions but said she could go to bed only after midnight daily and was frustrated that she did not have enough sleep.

She spoke through a Burmese interpreter and said, “I was wrong with biting and squeezing the child … But this is my first job in Singapore and my first serious mistake. I came to work in Singapore to make money for my mother’s medical expenses. “

At the verdict, district judge Paul Chan said that violence against children would not be tolerated.

He added that even though the perpetrator had been deprived of sleep, there was no need for her to absorb an innocent child.

In order not to treat a child they were in charge of, a criminal can be imprisoned for up to eight years, fines up to $ 8,000 or both. – The Straits Times/Ann