Overview
- On Wednesday, a court sentenced 67-year-old Hazel Phang Fong Yen to four months in jail after she pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to her Myanmar domestic worker.
- The court ordered Phang to pay S$4,440 in compensation for two months’ lost wages and pain and suffering, and said she will serve an extra four weeks if she does not pay.
- Court records say Phang repeatedly slapped, punched and scratched the 27-year-old helper in September and October 2022, causing blunt trauma to an eye, bruising and multiple abrasions that later scarred.
- The abuse came to light after the helper told Centre for Domestic Employees staff about her injuries during a December 2022 welfare call, and a police report was made that day.
- Prosecutors sought four to six months’ jail and the stated compensation, while the defence argued for leniency because Phang is frail, underweight and has serious health problems including a 2022 lung cancer diagnosis.