Singapore woman found guilty of abusing Indonesian maid

Oct 29, 2009, 3:00 GMT

   Singapore - A Singapore court has convicted a woman of abusing her Indonesian maid by scalding the helper's genitals with boiling water, helping to pull out her teeth, hitting her with a metal rod and threatening to kill her, a media report said Thursday.

   Maselly Ab Aziz, 38, is due to be sentenced next Wednesday, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

Her two children and lover had already been jailed for their part in abusing the 30-year-old maid Badingah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

   However, Maselly told the court that she planned to appeal against the conviction for the offences committed in June and July 2007.

   After the abuse the maid had managed to escape from the family flat by jumping from a window on the second floor.

   Her body showed numerous injuries including bruises, cuts, an infected scalp and scalding, the report said.

   Her employer Maselly claimed in court that the injuries were all self-inflicted.

   But the prosecutor dismissed her claim, arguing that Maselly's son, daughter and another woman described in court documents as Maselly's lesbian lover had all pleaded guilty.

   Maselly's 20-year-old son, Muhammad Iz'aan Mohd Sazali, had already been jailed for six weeks, while his sister Nur Rizan Mohd Sazali, 18, got a jail term of 26 months.

   Maselly's lover Elsa Elyahna Said, 24, was jailed for 17 months, said the report.