Maid who abused 90-year-old woman with dementia gets jail

CNA

3 days ago

SINGAPORE: A domestic helper who abused a 90-year-old woman with dementia under her care was jailed for a year on Wednesday (Jun 4).
Kyal Kyal Tun, a Myanmar national, was caught on closed-circuit camera television (CCTV) manhandling the frail woman, including biting her hand, choking her and slamming her against a sofa.
The victim was recorded screaming "very painful" and crying for help.
Kyal Kyal Tun, 39, earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of causing hurt to a vulnerable person, with four charges of a similar nature taken into consideration for her sentencing.
The maid was hired by the victim's grandson to take care of the victim and her 91-year-old husband - who also has dementia - from September or October 2024.
The elderly couple, who lived in the same house as Kyal Kyal Tun, had mobility difficulties and both wore diapers.
On the night of Jan 3, 2025, Kyal Kyal Tun told a family member of the victim that the elderly man had fallen in the kitchen.
The grandson reviewed CCTV footage and found out that the maid had physically abused the victim that day. He also saw that his grandfather fell a second time in his bedroom but was left there by Kyal Kyal Tun for 20 minutes.
The next day, the grandson brought his grandparents to the hospital and called the police.
Court documents detail Kyal Kyal Tun's actions against the elderly woman starting from 10.22pm on Jan 3, 2025.
Kyal Kyal Tun berated the couple after the man had fallen. She then carried the woman and dropped her onto the sofa, before forcefully covering her mouth while grabbing both her hands.
She also pressed the woman's head against the sofa and tapped her face.
The maid continued the violence against the woman over the next 20 minutes, including hitting the woman's face and shaking her.
She ignored the woman's pleas to stop, even when the victim said that she could die from Kyal Kyal Tun's actions.
At one point, the maid dragged the elderly woman off the sofa onto the floor, and ignored her plea to help her up.
She also bit the woman's hand, choked her and slammed her against the sofa multiple times.
The maid was also recorded lecturing the elderly man about trying to walk when he could not.
During investigations, Kyal Kyal Tun said she was very stressed at the time of the offences and took it out on the victim.
The victim suffered from rib fractures and bruises across her body. However, the doctor could not state with certainty that the injuries were caused by the maid.
For voluntarily causing hurt, a person could be jailed up to three years or fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,900), or both.