'Tired' maid fed baby milk laced with Anarex so she would sleep through the night

A maid in Singapore was sentenced to jail after it was revealed that she placed an Anarex tablet in milk that she fed to the baby she was looking after as reported in CNA.

She reportedly stated in her defence that she was tired and hoped the medication would make the child sleep to let her rest.

The 32-year-old domestic helper from Indonesia cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim’s identity. 

Maid mixes Anarax tablet in milk before feeding to baby

The baby’s 33-year-old mother hired the maid to take care of her child and perform household chores. She worked for the family for about 14 months before the incident. 

During her time with them, the helper did not raise any complaints about her employment. When she did feel tired from looking after the baby, she did not let her employer know about her weariness.

However, things took a turn last year, on Dec 5. 

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The child’s mother asked the maid to feed her 13-month-old baby a bottle of milk at about 8.30pm. 

The accused retrieved the baby’s milk bottle from the kitchen which already had about 100ml of milk. She then went to her own bedroom to take an Anarex tablet from her cupboard. She knew that Anarex was a type of drowsy medication as she had previously consumed it herself.

The maid then plotted to feed the baby milk with an Anarex that evening, so that the child would sleep through the night without requiring any tending. 

After placing the Anarex tablet into the milk, the domestic helper fed it to the baby — who drank about 90ml of the substance. The child fell asleep after about 20 minutes. The maid then placed her into a cot and returned to the kitchen to wash the milk bottle.

Baby’s family discovers milk was laced

The victim’s cousin later spotted something blue and white in the milk bottle and alerted the mother. She came to check for herself and saw the Anarex tablet at the bottom of the bottle. 

The baby’s mother then asked the maid about the tablet. Scared of this confrontation, the maid stated that she was unaware of the tablet in the bottle.

However, the employer decided to confront the maid again when she tasted the tablet. This time, the maid admitted to lacing the baby’s milk with Anarex and apologised. 

The child’s mother called the police and took her baby to the hospital the next day. The victim was examined and was found to be in fair condition with stable vital signs.

Domestic helper sentenced to six months’ jail

The maid was sentenced to six months’ jail on Tuesday (Nov 2). She has plead guilty to one count of causing hurt by means of stupefying substance.

The prosecutor noted the premeditation and gross abuse of trust. This was since the accused had been caring for the baby from birth. 

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In mitigation, the accused said she only wanted the baby to rest so could catch some rest as well. She sought forgiveness as she knew her actions were wrong. She also sought a lighter sentence for her actions. 

The court heard that it was hard for the maid since she was remanded while her father was dying in Indonesia and her mother was in critical care with Covid-19. Since her husband left her, she is now also the sole breadwinner of her family. 

For causing hurt by means of stupefying substance, a person can face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine or caning.

This article was first published in theAsianparent.