by Elena Chong
AN INDONESIAN maid who had sex with her employer's son was
jailed for 36 months by a district court on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old had admitted earlier to committing an obscene
act with the boy, then 11, by touching his private parts and having
sex with him towards the end of June last year. She also admitted
to performing oral sex on the boy on Christmas Day last year. He
had turned 12 by then.
She was found out when the boy's grandmother happened to pass by
her room to check on the victim who had had taken an unsually long
time in the toilet. The grandmother was then staying with the
family in the east of Singapore at the time. She asked the boy what
the accused had done to him, but he refused to say anything. He
finally told his father two days later. A police report was
made.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Cassandra Cheong sought a deterrent
sentence in view of a number of aggravating factors such as the
victim's age, abuse of trust by the accused who took advantage of
his naivete and innocence. She said the domestic helper, who is
single, was supposed to care for the victim and his siblings but
had instead made use of her position to satisfy her own sexual
desires.
District Judge John Ng agreed with the prosecution that a stiff
sentence was warranted to send a strong message to would-be
offenders that such abhorrent behaviour would not be tolerated. Two
other charges were taken into consideration.
She could have been jailed for up to 10 years for the sexual
penetration charge. Under the Children and Young Persons Act, she
could have been fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to two
years for committing an obscene act.
