A HOUSEWIFE, dissatisfied with the way her maid was preparing
dinner, burned the Indonesian's arm with a hot spoon two years ago.
For that, Pauline Wong June Gnoh, 42, was jailed six months on
Wednesday. For hitting the 23-year-old domestic worker with a metal
ladle, Wong was jailed an additional three months.
Wong pleaded guilty last month. Then the district court heard
that at about 12.30pm on Aug 26, 2008, Ms Yuli Priyanti, 23, was
hanging up the laundry in the kitchen of the Woodlands Drive
flat.
Wong, with an aluminium prong in her hand, demanded to know why
the undergarments were not placed in the washing net. Frightened,
Ms Priyanti ran to the living room but Wong caught up with the maid
and smacked her on the head and shoulders with the prong three
times.
Later that evening, the maid was deep frying a fish for dinner
when Wong scolded her for not coating it with flour before cooking
it. She took over the task but also dipped a spoon in the hot oil
in the wok and pressed it on Ms Priyanti's left arm.
The next day, angry that the maid took a long time to clean some
cuttlefish, the housewife hit her head with a ladle.
The mother of one will serve nine months in prison as the
three-month jail terms for the other offences were ordered to run
concurrently.
-- ST