SINGAPORE: Frustrated with her maid’s work, a woman dumped an entire bottle of soy sauce over the helper’s head.
Noorwahidah Johari, 42, also threw chilli at the victim, Indonesian Putri Rizki Amelia, 33, and twisted her left ear.
Noorwahidah, a Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail on Thursday (Mar 6) after pleading guilty to two counts of using criminal force and one count of voluntarily causing hurt.
The remaining four charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing. These relate to Noorwahidah throwing a basket of rubbish, a cup of water, and flour at Putri, as well as swinging a shoe at her.
Noorwahidah’s husband employed Putri in March 2023 to work at the household.
On Sep 28 that year, Noorwahidah asked why the soy sauce bottle was not in the refrigerator. She said she had repeatedly reminded Putri to keep the bottle to no avail for the past one-and-a-half months.
The helper said the soy sauce bottle was generally kept on the kitchen table and that it was too big to fit into the fridge. Angered, Noorwahidah uncapped the bottle and upended half its contents over the victim’s head.
In response, Putri challenged Noorwahidah to pour the whole bottle over her head, and Noorwahidah did so.
In September that year, Noorwahidah asked Putri to cut chilli and remove the seeds. Noorwahidah rejected the chilli when she saw that there were seeds in it, telling the helper to clean the chilli again.
When the chilli came back, Noorwahidah became upset as there were still seeds. She threw the chilli, which hit the victim’s eyes. Putri’s eyes felt irritated that night.
In October 2023, Noorwahidah became upset at Putri after smelling an odour from her couch upon arriving home.
She had instructed Putri to place a rubber mat on the sofa to prevent her daughter’s urine from dirtying the sofa.
Putri claimed she had washed the sofa after the girl had urinated that morning, but Noorwahidah maintained that there was still a smell of urine. Putri tried to clean the couch again but Noorwahidah was already incensed.
She grabbed Putri’s left ear and twisted it, remarking that the helper could not afford the expensive couch.
Putri made a police report on Oct 9, 2023, stating that she had been instructed to sleep in the kitchen since day two of her employment.
She said that Noorwahidah had been verbally and physically abusive towards her, adding that Noorwahidah threatened to make her pay S$2,000 (US$1,500) if she reported the incidents to the Ministry of Manpower.
The prosecution sought five to nine weeks’ jail for Noorwahidah, who had levied a “pattern of abuse” on the victim.
Noorwahidah’s lawyer Noelle Teoh noted that there had not been any direct physical contact and that the incidents were brief. The victim did not suffer lasting injuries, she added.
The woman’s acts arose from the frustration and dissatisfaction from Putri’s work performance and from her instructions not being followed, said Ms Teoh.
Ms Teoh said her client deeply regrets her actions. “This was a case where she had regrettably lost control of her temper. The incidents were out of character.
“Her young children and elderly parents are dependent on her and a lengthy prison will have impact on the children,” said the lawyer.
