Maid caught on CCTV hitting and slapping woman with dementia, jailed for 11 weeks
A domestic helper was jailed for 11 weeks on September 4 after repeatedly abusing her 69-year-old employer, including slapping her, pinching her nose and hitting her head and limbs.
Maria Inggrid Seran, 34, an Indonesian national, was working as a domestic helper in Singapore when she committed the offences.
She faced two charges of voluntarily causing hurt, Shin Min Daily News reported.
She pleaded guilty to one charge on Sept 4, with the second taken into consideration for sentencing.
Victim had dementia and diabetes
The victim was Maria’s 69-year-old employer and suffered from several medical conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and diverticulosis.
She was also unable to communicate with others.
Maria had been caring for the woman since March 2023. By November 2025, the elderly woman had lost her ability to care for herself and relied on Maria for her daily activities, including getting out of bed and using a wheelchair.
Abuse captured on CCTV
The abuse came to light after the victim’s son contacted police at around 7.30pm on April 20 this year.
He told police that CCTV cameras at the home had captured Maria abusing his mother.
Investigations found that between 10.25am and 10.43am that day, while feeding the victim breakfast, Maria committed eight acts of abuse.
These included slapping the woman, hitting her hands, legs and head, twisting her fingers and pulling her legs.
On one occasion, Maria appeared to use a tissue to help the woman wipe her nose, but instead pinched and hit her nose.
Maria admitted during investigations that this was not the first time she had abused her employer.
She said she had hit the woman on several previous occasions because she found her “nagging”.
Maria believed that hitting the woman would make her afraid and cause her to keep quiet.
The victim suffered injuries and marks on her body.
Because she was unable to communicate, she could not be interviewed by investigators about what happened.
The prosecution said the victim was particularly vulnerable as she depended on Maria for her daily needs and was unable to protect herself or tell others about the abuse.
Maria also attacked her without being provoked, and targeted vulnerable areas including the victim’s head and face, the prosecution said.
The prosecution had sought a jail term of between 11 and 13 weeks.
Maria was sentenced to 11 weeks’ jail on September 4.
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