Woman allegedly pulled maid's ear and threw rubbish, water and cut chillies at her
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
November 25, 2024
A woman is accused of pulling and twisting her domestic helper's left ear, as well as throwing a basket of rubbish, a bowl of water, a cup of flour and a bowl of cut chillies at the maid on separate occasions.
On Nov 25, Noorwahidah Johari was charged with one count of assaulting the helper and seven counts of using criminal force on her.
The 41-year-old Malaysian, who is a Singapore permanent resident, is accused of committing the offences in 2023 in an HDB flat in Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.
According to court documents, she allegedly flung a basket of rubbish, filled with pieces of torn paper, at the maid's face shortly before 2pm on Aug 9, 2023.
On separate occasions the following month, Noorwahidah allegedly threw a bowl of water, a cup of flour and a bowl of cut chillies at the helper.
Also in September, she allegedly swung a shoe and flung a cup of water at the helper on different occasions. She is also accused of pouring soya sauce on the maid's head that month.
These all led up to Noorwahidah allegedly pulling and twisting her employee's left ear in October 2023.
Court documents do not disclose how the alleged acts of abuse came to light. Noorwahidah is expected to plead guilty on Feb 5, 2025.
If convicted of assaulting the maid, she can be jailed for up to six years and fined up to $10,000.
For each count of using criminal force on a domestic helper, an offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $3,000.
