Maid gets life for killing boss<\/p>\n
Agencies, Singapore\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
A 24-year-old Indonesian maid, set to hang in Singapore on
\ncharges of stabbing dead her employer, won a reprieve on Friday
\nwhen a court reduced her sentence to life in prison because she
\nhad been abused.<\/p>\n
Sundarti Suprianto was charged with stabbing and burning Angie
\nNg, 33, and her 3-year-old daughter Crystal Poh, in May 2002, and
\nthen covering up the murders by setting fire to the crime scene
\n-- her employer's office.<\/p>\n
The Singapore High Court found Sundarti guilty on the lesser
\ncharge of culpable homicide instead of the original charge of
\nmurder, which carries a mandatory death sentence by hanging under
\nSingapore's tough laws.<\/p>\n
Sundarti's lawyers said she was provoked after suffering abuse
\nand deserved compassion because she saved Ng's 2-year-old son,
\nLeon Poh, from the fire.<\/p>\n
\"The defense of grave and sudden provocation succeeded,\" Johan
\nIsmail, who represented Sundarti, was quoted by Reuters as
\nsaying. \"She saved the young child, so the feeling was she was
\nnot a cold-blooded murderer.\"<\/p>\n
Sundarti had been employed for only about two weeks.<\/p>\n
While Justice MPH Rubin found Sundarti guilty of committing
\nthe crimes, he convicted her on the lesser charge of culpable
\nhomicide after taking into account the \"ill-treatment\" Ng had
\ninflicted on her.<\/p>\n
\"This is an exceptionally tragic case. It is tragic and sad
\nboth for the deceased and the accused,\" Rubin said, as quoted by
\nAFP, before sentencing her to life in jail.<\/p>\n
Rubin rejected the prosecution's argument that Sundarti was a
\n\"cold-blooded killer\" who carried out a \"mindless killing\".<\/p>\n
\"Despite all the lies uttered by the accused to extricate
\nherself from her guilt, there was cogent evidence to conclude
\nthat the deceased subjected her to some measure of ill-
\ntreatment,\" Rubin said.<\/p>\n
\"In my view, the cord of reason suddenly snapped when the
\naccused could no longer control her feelings of despair.\"<\/p>\n
Rubin referred to Ng depriving Sundarti of food, forcing the
\nIndonesian woman to accept biscuits from other people out of
\npity, as one form of ill-treatment.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Mohamad Slamet Hidayat said
\nhe respected the sentence.<\/p>\n
\"In our view, the court has been fair in proceeding the case,
\nand thus, we respect the outcome,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The ambassador hopes Sundarti's case will help other domestic
\nworkers from Indonesia prepare themselves mentally and physically
\nbefore deciding to work in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Often regarded as an inexhaustible underclass who are cheap
\nand compliant, Singapore's 140,000 foreign domestic workers make
\nthe affluent Southeast Asian city-state one of the world's top
\nemployers of maids.<\/p>\n
About one in seven families hire live-in maids, mostly drawn
\nfrom the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
After high-profile reports of maid abuse, prospective
\nemployers must now attend a seminar on how to treat staff
\nproperly and also pass a test.<\/p>\n
Domestic workers are one of the few groups of people in
\ntightly controlled Singapore that are not protected by the
\nEmployment Act that sets basic work rights.<\/p>\n
However, the Singapore government announced in July it would
\nchange some rules in an effort to end the tension between
\ndomestic workers and their employers, such as raising the minimum
\nage of foreign employees from 18 to 23. Related Story on Page 5<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/maid-gets-life-for-killing-boss-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}