42YO Housewife Who Was Charged With Permanently Damaging Helper’s Eyes Charged Again for Giving Her Insufficient Food

Remember this case? Yeah, the perp’s back in court once again to face two more charges for her mistreatment of her domestic worker.

42-year-old Ummi Kalsum Ali had previously been charged with two counts of causing voluntary hurt for causing permanent damage to Ms Sugiyem’s eyes and for pressing a hot iron onto her arms.

Now, she has been accused of failing to provide adequate food to Ms Sugiyem between February and 23 October 2020, causing the victim to lose weight, reported TODAYonline.

One has to wonder how someone can fail at giving enough food to their employee.

In addition, Ummi allegedly did not give Ms Sugiyem a mattress to sleep on between August and 23 October last year. This clearly was “inconsistent with guidelines for employers to adhere to for rest days and well-being for a foreign domestic worker”, court documents stated.

Both her alleged offences fall under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

If you need a quick recap, here’s what Ummi initially went to court for back in April this year.

The first two charges were for causing voluntary hurt to Ms Sugiyem as mentioned above. She had slapped Ms Sugiyem on the face and ears, punched her eyes and hit them with objects like clothes hangers, which resulted in permanent damage to her sight.

She also had repeatedly pressed a hot iron on the victim’s forearms.

Ummi faces another ten counts of offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act—one for failing to provide timely and adequate medical attention on six occasions, and nine for failing to pay Ms Sugiyem her monthly salary of S$670 from January to September last year.

The abuse took place between February 2020 and October 2020, in Ummi’s flat along Pasir Ris Drive 6.

This means that Ummi now faces a total of 16 charges.

She is currently out on bail of S$20,000 and will return to court on 3 August.

If Ummi is convicted of contravening work pass regulations, she could be jailed for up to a year or fined up to S$10,000, or both.

How Did Authorities Find Out?

A police report against Ummi was lodged on 30 October 2020 by the Centre of Domestic Employees (CDE), after Ms Sugiyem had left Singapore and flew back to Indonesia. However, she did return to assist with investigations.

In a Facebook post, CDE said that their team had been working with the Indonesian Embassy, the local authorities and their partners to provide assistance to the victim.

Through their network of partners, they provided her with counselling sessions and activated their charity fund to pay for her medical expenses.

The organisation emphasised that such acts of physical abuse towards the vulnerable “should not be condoned” and that individuals should seek help by calling the police, informing the neighbours or contacting CDE’s 24-hour helpline at 1800-2255-233.

Feature Image: New Africa / Shutterstock.com