A year's jail for maid who bit, choked 90-year-old woman with dementia

A year's jail for maid who bit, choked 90-year-old woman with dementia
A maid who repeatedly assaulted a frail 90-year-old woman with dementia, including choking and biting her, was sentenced to one year in jail on June 4.
PHOTO: AsiaOne file

SINGAPORE — A maid who repeatedly assaulted a frail 90-year-old woman with dementia, including choking and biting her, was sentenced to one year in jail on June 4.

The victim, who had to wear adult diapers, was later found with injuries, including multiple broken ribs and bruises on her face and limbs.

But a doctor could not state with certainty if her assailant's offences had caused the injuries.

Myanmar national Kyal Kyal Tun, 39, who had taken out her frustrations on the senior citizen as she was feeling "very stressed", pleaded guilty to three counts of assault in April.

Three counts of using criminal force on the victim and a fourth assault charge were also considered during her sentencing.

In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Caleb Looi told the court that, at the time of the offences, the victim lived in a Housing Board flat with her 91-year-old husband, who also had dementia and wore adult diapers.

The couple's 32-year-old grandson, who lived elsewhere, had employed Kyal Kyal Tun, and she began working in the flat in late 2024, caring for the elderly couple.

At around 9pm on Jan 3, the maid contacted the grandson's father to tell him that the elderly man had fallen in the kitchen. The court heard that a CCTV camera in the flat had captured the incident.

Shortly after 10.20pm, the elderly man fell again in his bedroom, but Kyal Kyal Tun left him on the floor for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, she carried his wife and dropped her onto a sofa.

After that, Kyal Kyal Tun used her right hand to forcefully cover the elderly woman's mouth, while using her left hand to grab the victim's hands.

She also pressed the elderly woman's head against the sofa and shook her.

At 10.26pm, Kyal Kyal Tun grabbed the victim's hands and used them to hit the woman's face. The victim, who was crying, told the maid that she "could die".

Ignoring her cries, Kyal Kyal Tun slapped the victim's face, repeatedly shoved her head against the sofa and dragged her to the floor.

She grabbed the victim's head and neck before lifting her up to a sitting position. The maid then pushed the woman along the floor.

The victim somehow managed to move herself to the bedroom where her husband was.

About five minutes later, Kyal Kyal Tun dragged the woman out of the room and flung her onto the sofa again.

She hit the victim's face multiple times and bit her right hand. After that, Kyal Kyal Tun choked the woman and slammed her against the sofa.

Shortly before 10.45pm, the maid grabbed the victim's hands and forcefully pushed them against the sofa.

The elderly woman again told the maid that she "could die". She also gestured at her jaw and told her assailant that it was swollen.

Court documents did not disclose what happened next, but the grandson later viewed the CCTV footage and saw the maid assaulting his grandmother from 10.22pm to 10.45pm on Jan 3.

He alerted the police on Jan 4 and the victim was taken to Singapore General Hospital.

Kyal Kyal Tun was arrested on Feb 17. Court documents did not mention why she was arrested more than a month after she assaulted the victim.

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

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