Maid jailed for abusing two children under her care

SINGAPORE - An Indonesian maid was jailed four months on Monday (Jan 4) after being caught kicking and slapping two young children under her care.

Khaerun Nisa Selfitriya, 28, was found guilty of ill-treating a 23-month-old toddler as well as her eight-month-old baby brother in a flat in Woodlands on Oct 14 last year, according to local media reports.

The girl's father first noticed scratch marks on his daughter's arm in May last year and decided to install a closed-circuit TV camera (CCTV) in their home.

In the video clip which lasted 25 seconds, the baby was seen sitting on the floor unattended, while Selfitriya seemed to be taking care of the girl. About 15 seconds into the video, Selfitriya is seen pulling the restless girl up and kicking her thigh violently. This caused the toddler to fall and hit her head on the ground.

It was reported that Selfitriya did this because the girl refused to finish her food, threw up and started crying.

Selfitriya also slapped the baby's back multiple times with her hand, after he cried while being fed.

Armed with the CCTV footage, the children's father made a police report the next day, reported The Straits Times. The incident was also reported by Daily Mail on Oct 16 last year after the video was posted online and went viral.

In court, Selfitriya told the police that she was treated well by her employers who had even taken her to China for a holiday.

Selfitriya's lawyer Mr Nasser Ismail added that his client became "depressed, scared and confused" when she committed the offence as she had missed home and had not heard from her family since starting work in Singapore.

stephluo@sph.com.sg