SINGAPORE, KOMPAS.com – The Singapore High Court has sentenced a woman to 30 years in prison for the murder of a domestic helper (ART) at her home.
The killings were carried out more than a year after the ART experienced abuse which included starvation, torture, and beatings.
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Gaiyathiri Murugayan, pleaded guilty in February to murder charges, among 28 charges related to his abuse of Myanmar’s Piang Ngaih Don.
The 24-year-old ART was known to have been subjected to beatings for 14 months, which led to her death in 2016.
Judge See Kee Oon said that although Murugayan, 40, was suffering from significant psychiatric problems. The offense he committed was horrific and was done on purpose.
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“This extremely inhuman and horrific crime is an important consideration in imposing the scale of punishment and (efforts) to prevent similar incidents,” the judge said in sentencing, according to a transcript provided by the court. Guardian on Tuesday (22/6/2021).
“He is aware of his actions and has a purpose in his behavior. He doesn’t lack the capacity to understand what he’s doing.”
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The judge said prosecutors described the photo as “shocking” showing how the 24-year-old woman was tortured, humiliated, left to starve and eventually killed.
The judge said the case was one of the “worst homicides” in the country and that “words cannot describe the cruelty and horrific behavior of the accused” before his death.
BBC Indonesia reported that Murugayan was known to have abused the young woman since October 2015, shortly after Piang arrived in Singapore for her first overseas job.
CCTV footage from cameras installed in the house shows the torture that Pian has endured over the past month. Torture was carried out several times a day.
Murugayan also reportedly tortured Piang with a hot iron and was accused of throwing him “like a rag doll.”
The trial also revealed that Piang was only given one piece of bread soaked in water, cold food from the refrigerator or a little rice.
The victim is known to have lost 15 kilograms, or about 38 percent of her original weight in 14 months.
The Myanmar woman died in July 2016 after being repeatedly beaten for hours by Murugyan and her mother.
The autopsy report showed Piang died from lack of oxygen after being repeatedly strangled.
#22Jun | A Singaporean woman, identified as Gaiyathiri Murugayan, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for mistreating and murdering her domestic worker. Piang Ngaih Don (24 years old) was trampled, strangled, suffocated, beaten with brooms and burned with an iron.
????:@AFP pic.twitter.com/yg7STMqiHn
– El Diario (@eldiario) June 22, 2021
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Murugayan’s lawyer, Joseph Chen, said a family member of his client had asked him to appeal seeking a shorter prison sentence of 15 to 16 years.
The reason for the request for waivers is because their client has depression and personality disorders.
It is hoped that the perpetrator will still be able to spend time with his children after he is released.
“People with mental disorders see things differently, they can’t pull themselves out of the situation,” he said.
“For family members, a 30-year sentence is as bad as life imprisonment.”
Murugayan’s husband was fired from his job as a police officer and his mother also faces several charges related to the case.
There are about 250,000 ART in Singapore, coming from a number of countries including Indonesia, Myanmar or the Philippines.
Ironically, cases of ART torture in Singapore often occur. In 2017, a husband and wife were jailed for letting their Filipino maid starve.
In 2019, another couple was jailed for torturing a Myanmar maid.
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