Helper sentenced to 18 months for repeatedly assaulting 97-year-old employer

SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic worker has been sentenced to 18 months’ jail after repeatedly abusing her 97-year-old employer, a wheelchair-bound man with dementia who relied on her for daily care.

40-year-old Indonesian Siti Nurhayati Marwi Animan was jailed on Friday (July 10) after pleading guilty to physically abusing the elderly man on multiple occasions. The assaults included striking him on the head, eyes, stomach, arms and legs, poking his eyes, beating him with a feather duster, throwing him onto a sofa and pulling and squeezing his genitals.

Appearing in court without legal representation, Siti broke down in tears as prosecutors played footage recorded by a hidden camera that had been installed by the victim’s grandson after he became suspicious that his grandfather was being mistreated. After admitting to the offences, she apologised in court, saying, “I’m really, really sorry.”

Siti had been employed in 2019 to care for the elderly man and his wife. After his wife died in 2023, she continued looking after him. By late 2024, he had become wheelchair-bound and suffered from multiple medical conditions, including dementia with mild psychological symptoms, leaving him dependent on her for care.

The court heard that his dementia caused memory problems and delusions, making him unable to accurately remember or report the abuse he suffered.

The abuse only came to light after the victim’s 38-year-old grandson moved into the home in October 2025. He began noticing fresh bruises and injuries appearing on his grandfather almost every day. Whenever he questioned Siti about them, she claimed the elderly man had fallen, bumped into walls or accidentally injured himself while trying to move around.

Unsatisfied with her explanations, the grandson purchased a hidden camera with a livestream function and positioned it beside the television facing the living room sofa.

On October 30, 2025, after leaving the flat around noon, he monitored the camera remotely. Between 12:52 p.m. and 3:02 p.m, he witnessed Siti repeatedly assaulting his grandfather by striking his head and face, poking his face with her fingers, tilting him over the sofa and punching him in the stomach.

When the grandson returned home later that day, he questioned Siti about the new bruises on the victim’s face. She again suggested he might have fallen. Rather than confronting her with the footage immediately, the grandson decided to continue monitoring her to gather further evidence.

The abuse continued over the next two days and was also captured by the hidden camera. On 31 Oct, the grandson informed his aunt that he had discovered the abuse.

During those three days, while he was in his bedroom, he repeatedly heard his grandfather shouting “cannot beat me” in Teochew. However, whenever he checked on him, the elderly man insisted nothing had happened. The court heard that Siti would then comfort him and tell him to behave and stop shouting.

On Nov 1, the grandson met his aunt and showed her the recordings. The following day, the footage was shared with other family members. During those discussions, the grandson’s father recalled that the victim’s doctor had previously questioned the cause of the bruises during medical appointments, saying the injuries did not appear consistent with falls as Siti had claimed.

The family subsequently lodged a police report, and Siti was arrested the same day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicole Teo sought a jail term of between 20 and 26 months, arguing that the charges reflected only the abuse recorded by the hidden camera and not any possible incidents that occurred outside its view.

She described the repeated attacks on the elderly man’s face and other sensitive parts of his body as particularly serious and told the court that the emotional suffering he endured was evident in the recordings. In several clips shown during the hearing, the victim could be seen holding his face and grimacing after being struck.

The prosecutor also argued that the offences were especially difficult to uncover because of the victim’s physical frailty and dementia, and said the abuse might never have been discovered without the grandson’s vigilance.

Ms Teo further submitted that Siti had initially denied the allegations when questioned by the police and only admitted to the offences after investigators confronted her with the video recordings. According to court documents, she later explained that she lashed out because she was tired and frustrated from caring for the elderly man while also handling household chores.

In mitigation, Siti apologised again for her actions and acknowledged that she had made mistakes. Having remained in remand since her arrest, she appealed for a lighter sentence, telling the court that she had worked overseas for two decades as the sole breadwinner for her family.

“I promise I will not do it again,” she said through an interpreter.

In sentencing Siti to 18 months’ imprisonment, District Judge Arvindren R said the victim’s advanced age, medical conditions and complete dependence on his caregiver made him especially vulnerable. He also cited the sustained pattern of violence inflicted on a defenceless victim as an aggravating factor.

The judge observed that the charges before the court covered only incidents captured on the hidden camera, noting that bruises had already appeared weeks earlier and had prompted the family to install the recording device.

Under Singapore law, voluntarily causing hurt carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. Where the victim is considered a vulnerable person, the court has the power to impose up to twice the maximum punishment.