Maid gets sent home for allegedly abusing elderly woman who dies on same day

An Indonesian maid who was hired to take care of an elderly woman was sent home on Tuesday (Oct 8) for allegedly abusing the latter. 

The 77-year-old woman died on the same day, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

The elderly woman's daughter, surnamed Wang, told the Chinese evening daily she had hired the domestic helper in June last year to take care of her mother, who was bedridden after suffering a stroke. 

Wang had no issues with the maid until she checked CCTV footage of her mother's room on Sept 23, which revealed that the helper had been mistreating the elderly woman. 

The maid reportedly pushed the elderly woman's head against the bed, and shook her body roughly. She also tried to pulling her eyelids. 

Enraged by what she saw, Wang made a police report. 

Although the police arrested the maid, there was insufficient evidence found, according to Wang. 

The maid agency also urged her to buy a plane ticket to send the helper home. 

As she was busy taking care of her mother, whose condition was deteriorating, Wang only purchased the maid's plane ticket in early October. 

On Tuesday, the day the maid was supposed to fly back to Indonesia, Wang's mother died. 

"She never apologised for her behaviour, until I sent her a photo of my mother's wake. She only apologised after seeing it," said Wang.

The elderly woman's son, Wang Guangxin (transliteration), told Shin Min that his mother used to work as as a nanny.

She suffered a stroke three years ago, becoming bedridden. Her condition also deteriorated over time. 

At the start of this year, his mother lost the ability to speak, and hence could not tell her children that she was being abused. 

"Every time I visited my mother, she would cry.

"I didn't know what was going on then, but it hurts when I think about it now," said the 53-year-old bus driver.

No medical report 

According to Guangxin, the family asked a doctor to visit the elderly woman shortly after they found out she was being abused. 

However, the doctor only asked them to take care of their mother, and did not tell them to get her injuries examined. 

Both siblings were unaware that they required a medical report to prove that their mother was physically abused, so they did not manage to get one in time. 

"I feel very sorry towards my mother because she could not express herself when she was abused. Now that she's dead, we can't help her get justice," he said. 

Guangxin added that his mother had wanted to move in with him, but their plans were delayed because of the pandemic. 

The elderly woman used to live in Ang Mo Kio with her husband, who died two years ago. 

She then moved to Hougang to stay with her daughter. 

Guangxin and his wife have been staying in a rented house which could not accommodate his mother. 

He applied for a four-room flat in Tengah, and was supposed to move in together with her in March. 

READ ALSO: 'Unforgiveable': Employer accuses maid of abusing bedridden mum 'thrice in one night'

claudiatan@asiaone.com