Singaporean couple is jailed for starving maid

A SINGAPORE couple who starved their Philippine maid until she weighed just 29 kilograms were ordered jailed yesterday in a case described as “shocking” by prosecutors who vowed to seek stiffer sentences.

Trader Lim Choon Hong, 48, was sentenced to three weeks in jail and fined S$10,000 (US$7,200), while his wife, Chong Sui Foon, also 48, was jailed for three months, the couple’s lawyer told AFP.

Critics were outraged by what they saw as lenient penalties for the couple.

Both were convicted last year of violating employment laws by failing to provide enough food for their maid, Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, over a 15-month period in 2013 and 2014.

Prosecutors, who have described the systematic starvation as “downright shocking in its extremity and severity”, are pushing for the pair to be jailed for the maximum 12 months.

Gawidan, in her 40s, had stopped menstruating because she was getting only 75 percent of the recommended level of iron, an expert testified. She was also losing her hair because she was taking less than half her requirement of zinc.

“Simply put, she was wasting away,” the prosecutors said in a submission to the court.

“It is sickening that the vic- tim had been forced to endure inhumane treatment of such cruelty and duration in what must have been for her an unspeakably hellish and unbearable existence.”

They said the poor quality and small quantity of food fed to Gawidan “are intuitively repugnant to basic notions of humane and ethical treatment in a developed society”.

Gawidan lost almost 20 kilograms during her time working for the couple, who only allowed her to eat two meals a day usually a few slices of white bread and small portions of instant noodles.

They also packed meagre meals for her when she went with the family on vacation.

The nutrition expert testified that the maid’s daily calorie intake was only about 900 calories, much less than the 1,700 calories she needed to sustain her normal activities.

Gawidan had no access to her cellphone and was not allowed to go out on her own.

She was only allowed to shower once or twice a week and could only use the condominium’s common toilet.

“Moreover, she was subject to even more degrading treatment. She suffered the indignity of [the wife] standing inside the toilet while she showered so as to monitor her,” the prosecutors said.