Jail, fine for woman who assaulted own father, 81, when he tried to stop her from attacking maid

SINGAPORE - A property agent was so incensed that her 81-year-old father had tried to stop her from assaulting a maid, she kicked him in the stomach and bit his left forearm.

That was not all. When Bibianna Lim Poh Suan's brother tried to stop her from leaving in her car, she accelerated and he was forced to jump onto the car bonnet before rolling off the side.

The identities of her parents were not disclosed in court documents while her brother was identified as "Winston" in the prosecutor's submissions.

Lim, 47, was sentenced on Monday (Dec 16) to 12 weeks' jail and a fine of $800. She was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for a year.

District Judge Salina Ishak had convicted her, after a trial, of two assault charges as well as one count each of mischief and causing hurt by performing a rash act.

During the trial, Lim said the maid was initially "polite, cordial and pleasant" to her. But she claimed that Ms Theresa Elevencione Gamuzaran later morphed into someone who hurled "false allegations" at her.

The Filipina's age was not disclosed in court documents.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong, in her submissions, said that "this dramatic change was ostensibly due to two disagreements", during which the accused alleged that Ms Gamuzaran lied and manipulated her parents.

Court documents did not reveal details of the two disagreements.

DPP Zhou said that Ms Gamuzaran was in the kitchen on Feb 28 last year when Lim confronted and then slapped her. The maid suffered a decrease in hearing to her left ear as a result of Lim slapping her face multiple times. Her condition has since improved.

The incident was witnessed by Lim's mother, who testified in court.

Lim's father said when he stepped out of his bedroom after hearing a commotion, he saw Ms Gamuzaran "holding onto (her) ear", leading him to believe that his daughter had slapped the maid.

When he tried to stop his daughter from hitting the maid, Lim attacked him. She then tossed Ms Gamuzaran's mobile phone into a washing machine, damaging it.

Lim left them after hitting her father. As she was about to drive way in her car, Winston tried to stop her. It was not disclosed in court papers if Lim lived with her brother and parents.

DPP Zhou said: "The accused then accelerated. To avoid impact, (the brother) 'jumped on the car bonnet' and 'rolled off the side'.

"He suspected that he was hit in the leg, when he felt pain on his knee subsequently when driving to CGH (Changi General Hospital)."

DPP Zhou, quoting the brother, said Lim then lowered the car window and laughed sarcastically, as if to say "you can't get me".

In her defence, Lim, who was represented by lawyer Tan Hee Joek, said that she "never touched" Ms Gamuzaran.

The DPP said: "The accused alleged that Theresa was so vindictive that she gave false evidence to the police and in court... to 'get her into trouble... with the law'."

Lim also denied that her car touched her brother that day.

However, she did not deny biting and kicking her father, claiming that she had absolutely no intention to harm the elderly man and that she acted out of "reflex".

Her father was left with a bite mark on his arm and mild tenderness to his body following the attack.

Mr Tan told the court on Monday that his client intended to appeal against the judge's decisions.

For assaulting her own father, Lim could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000. And for causing hurt to her brother by performing a rash act, she could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.