38-year-old Indonesian maid Minah stabbed her 77-year-old elderly employer in her throat and the latter bled to death. The Singapore Court however ruled that there is no murder and sentenced her to only 15 years’ jail, in what seems like the most shocking sentencing in Singapore history today (Apr 23). After hearing the sentence, the severely disgruntled Singapore family members of the deceased hurled abuse at the maid when she was carried away by the guards at the Singapore Court.
According to an eyewitness, the knife was still lodged in the victim’s throat. The autopsy report revealed that 77-year-old Mdm Tay Quee Lang bled to death from her stab wound. The psychiatric report also testified that the Indonesian maid was not suffering from mental illness, and that she was fully aware of the murder.
Interestingly, the government’s public prosecutor called for only a 15 years’ imprisonment when the maximum sentence for culpable homicide is 20 years. There is also no explanation why the murder charge was dropped. On advice of the prosecution, the Singapore Court delivered the perplexing sentence of 15 years imprisonment.
The Singapore’s censorship laws ban Singaporean citizens from criticising the judiciary and their judgement. The contempt of court charge is designed to shield the government and the judiciary from public criticisms by threatening the people with hefty fines and jail sentences.