RI maid acquitted of complicity

RI maid acquitted of complicity

SINGAPORE (DPA): An Indonesian maid who claimed she felt compelled to obey her Singapore employer's instructions to help him commit suicide has been acquitted, a report said on Sunday.

Deputy public prosecutor Ne Cheng Thiam told the district court on Saturday he was withdrawing the charge of abetting a suicide after considering the facts of the case and taking into account a psychiatrist's report, The Sunday Times reported.

The evaluation found Sarinah Almijin Soleham, 32, was "of borderline intelligence, such that she felt compelled to obey the instructions of the deceased to assist him in his suicide".

Sarinah was charged after Chua Keng Hoon was found dead at home with a rubber hose running to his nose from a gas pipe.

She was accused of buying the equipment and helping the 54 year old, who had suffered a stroke four years ago which left him paralyzed on the left side of his body.

Chua was found dead on July 12 of gas inhalation.

The unemployed Chua lived with his wife and daughter, but Sarinah was alone with him at the time of death.

The court was told Sarinah helped Chua set up the hose and then left the kitchen. Upon returning, she found him unconscious and called a relative.