A couple in Singapore have been sentenced to prison for starving their domestic worker from Philippines.
The victim lost 20 kilograms – about 40% of her body weight, while working for them, she was only given bread and instant noodles to eat.
Her employers Lim Choon Hong and his wife Chong Sui Foon were jailed for three weeks and three months respectively.
Many Singaporeans hire live-in helpers from neighboring countries, and abuse cases are not uncommon.
Victim identified as Thelma Oyasan Gawidan was starved over a period of 15 months, where her weight dropped from 49kg to 29kg.
According to court documents, Gawidan was given only small amounts of food twice a day, and her requests for more food were ignored. She was given a storeroom to sleep and was allowed to take shower once or twice a week.
She was unable to seek help earlier as her employers had confiscated her mobile phone and passport.
She finally managed to escape her employers in April 2014 and sought help from a migrant workers’ aid group.
The accused couple claimed that they treated their maid the same way they treated themselves, as they ate and showered infrequently due to Chong’s obsessions with food and cleaning her home.
Psychiatrists testified that Chong had obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia.
Prosecutors urged the court to sentence maximum one year prison for the couple, as they ate good food, in larger quantities.
The husband was jailed for three weeks and fined 10,000 SD, while his wife was jailed for three months.
The incident has horrified and outraged many people in Singapore, with many stating that the sentences were too lenient.
"Too little... it's too inhumane to starve a person," said one Facebook user.
The victim had received 20,000 SD in compensation, but the judge’s primary concern was whether giving money, “one dollar or million dollars”, demonstrate genuine remorse.
In recent years, Singapore has seen a rising number of cases of domestic helper abuse.
The city-state has a highly regulated system for employing maids, but activists say not enough is being done to protect migrant workers' rights.
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