'She tortured our mother': Myanmar helper jailed after punching employer's 86-year-old mum 4 times

When a doctor at Sengkang General Hospital told him last month that his 86-year-old mother had suffered a fracture on her left thigh, his suspicions were aroused.

This was not the first time that his mother had been found with injuries on her body, the 56-year-old bank employee, surnamed Xue, told Shin Min Daily News.

On Friday (Nov 10), foreign domestic worker Oo Win Kyi, 32, was found guilty of assaulting the elderly woman and sentenced to 13 months' jail, The Straits Times reported. 

Xue told Shin Min Daily News that his mother, who suffers from dementia, had been bedridden from a stroke last February. 

He then employed the Myanmar national to take care of her at their residence in Sengkang, as well as perform household chores.

In April last year, he noticed injuries on his mother's fingers and when he asked Oo, she claimed his mother had bitten herself.

He also found more injuries on his mother over the next few months, including bruises on her face. When confronted, Oo claimed that his mother had hurt herself by accident.

Xue told the Chinese daily that his family members had brought the woman to the doctor, but were told on two occasions that it is common for elderly who have mobility issues to suffer from bruising.

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But on Oct 19, Xue noticed that his mother's left leg was badly swollen and Oo again told him that she had injured herself from a fall. He felt something was amiss and brought his mother to Sengkang General Hospital for treatment. That was when the doctor told him that his mother had fractured her thigh.

Xue said: "My brother checked the CCTV in our mother's room and found that she had tortured our mother for a prolonged period. We called the police immediately."

The elderly woman is currently still warded in hospital, reported Shin Min.

According to a report by The Straits Times on Nov 10, investigations revealed that on the afternoon of Oct 19, Oo had helped the victim to the edge of her bed so she could stand up to exercise, but the latter gradually slumped to the floor.

After Oo helped the victim back to her bed, she punched the latter four times on the left side of her face with her right fist, causing her to fall to the ground.

In addition, Oo had also bitten the victim's hand and hit her with an abs roller on Oct 17 evening, Shin Min reported.

For assaulting a person whom she knew was vulnerable, Oo pleaded guilty to one charge and was sentenced to 13 months' jail on Friday.

In meting out the sentence, District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan said: "In a case like this, the court has to make it absolutely clear how unacceptable acts of violence towards vulnerable victims are, especially when committed by the very person whose primary duty is to take care of them."

He added that as an elderly woman who is bedridden with dementia, she may not be able to understand and articulate the abuse towards her.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com