SINGAPORE: The trial of two teenaged maids charged with
murdering their employer, Esther Ang, began at the High Court on
Monday.
Lawyers representing the maids, Siti Aminah and Juminem, alleged
that Esther could have ill-treated her maids.
Esther was suffocated with a pillow and then bludgeoned with a wine
bottle in her condominium on 2 March last year, according to a
forensic pathologist report.
Esther's ex-husband, Jack Boon, revealed in court that the victim
had gambling problems.
He said Esther scolded her maids in offensive language, and was a
fastidious employer who looked under the table for dust.
When questioned by Juminem's lawyer, Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim, Mr
Boon also revealed that Esther had threatened to fine her maids if
they were lazy or broke a glass.
But Mr Boon also said he was not aware that Esther had ill-treated
the maids.
He said he did not consider making the maids work every day from
6am to 11pm without a single off day or scolding the maids in
abusive languages, to be a form of ill treatment.
Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim said Juminem kept a diary during the
course of her employment.
The lawyer said that in one of Juminem's first entries, she wrote:
'please, god! help my employer to change'.
Subsequently after a few months, she wrote again: 'My heart is
exploding with anger. Please, god! forgive me as I take my
revenge'.
The diary will be submitted as evidence in court in a few
days.
This is the first time that two senior counsels have been assigned
to defend maids charged with murder.
Just last year, an Indonesian maid was sentenced to life
imprisonment for strangling her employer.
The case is being closely followed by the Indonesian media.
"I just want to say that I think we have a very fair system of
judiciary in Singapore and my client would have a fair trial," said
Senior Counsel Alvin Yeo, Siti Aminah's lawyer.
Only one family member of each of the two maids could afford to
come to Singapore to attend the trial. - CNA
DPP asked to defend the maids.... Hmm....