Maid, 53, gets life imprisonment for murdering Singapore employer, 73, who suspected her of stealing

SINGAPORE: A domestic helper who was given a second chance after stealing from her employers has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering the 73-year-old man she was hired to care for.

The High Court found that 53-year-old Indonesian maid Sumiyati suffocated Mr Low Hoon Cheong with a pillow in April 2022 after becoming angry over a confrontation about missing items and fearing her latest theft would be uncovered.

The family had earlier decided against making a police report after discovering she had stolen jewellery. They kept her on because they still needed help caring for Mr Low, who had mobility problems, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported (July 29).

The family kept her on after discovering the theft

Sumiyati joined the family in 2019 to care for Mr Low and handle household chores. Court documents said she initially had a good relationship with the family. Her salary later increased from about S$570 to S$700 a month after her contract was renewed.

Things changed in late 2021 when she began asking for salary advances and borrowing money. She also lied about needing money for her daughter’s education and family emergencies.

In April 2022, she stole gold jewellery from Mr Low’s wife and pawned the items for cash. When the theft came to light, she handed over the pawn tickets. The family accepted her apology and chose not to involve the police because they still relied on her to care for Mr Low.

Her lawyer said she claimed she had lost money to three scammers, including someone she believed was in an online relationship with her. Prosecutors accepted that this was her account but said there was no evidence proving the scams had actually happened.

She planned the killing after fearing her latest theft would be exposed

On April 28, 2022, Sumiyati stole cash from Mr Low while he was awake and later took more money after he fell asleep.

When Mr Low questioned her about his wife’s missing necklace and urged her to admit the theft before police became involved, she denied taking it.

The court heard that she then decided to kill him because she was angry about being accused and feared he would soon discover the missing cash.

She considered several methods before settling on using a pillow. She believed it would leave fewer signs of violence and could appear to be a natural death.

After waiting until Mr Low was asleep, she pressed the pillow over his face until he stopped moving. She later stole another S$70, took two mobile phones and a pair of earrings before leaving the flat.

She tried to meet a man she believed was connected to the scam but failed to find him. Police arrested her the following morning in the Bishan-Toa Payoh area.

Mr Low’s wife found him unresponsive that evening after returning home. Despite attempts to revive him, paramedics pronounced him dead. An autopsy later confirmed he died from suffocation.

The court rejected claims of black magic and imposed life imprisonment

A psychiatric assessment found Sumiyati had no mental disorder when she committed the offence, although she had borderline intelligence.

Her lawyer said she believed she had been controlled through black magic by one of the alleged scammers. He also said she deeply regretted her actions and asked the court to convey her apology to Mr Low’s family.

The prosecution accepted that she claimed to have been scammed but rejected any suggestion that black magic or hypnosis caused the killing.

Justice Mavis Chionh described the case as tragic. She said the murder involved planning, but that planning developed spontaneously on the day of the offence rather than over a long period.

The judge ruled that the circumstances didn’t justify the death penalty. Sumiyati was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Prosecutors didn’t seek an additional prison term in place of caning, which cannot be carried out on female offenders.

Murder carries either the death penalty or life imprisonment under Singapore law.

Trust, compassion and personal responsibility carry lasting consequences

The family’s earlier decision to forgive the theft came from compassion and practical need, yet the court’s findings show that serious crimes still carry the strongest consequences when that trust is betrayed.

Scams can ruin lives, but they never excuse violence or take away personal responsibility.