Housekeeping Jailed For Stabbing 95-year-old Employer Who Spat In Her Face.

Wanting to teach the old woman "a lesson" for spitting in his face, Sandar Htoo took two knives and stabbed the sleeping 95-year-old woman. old woman in throat and mouth. 

After her 95-year-old employer spat in her face, a housekeeper snapped and decided to "teach her a lesson" once and for all. The Myanmar maid  took two kitchen knives  and stabbed the old woman while she was sleeping. One of the  knives went through the victim's mouth while the other was lodged in his throat.

Sandar Htoo, whose identity papers show she is 36  but looks much older, was sentenced on Tuesday (November 15) to 16 years in prison. Sandar pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was not murder. an adjustment disorder that significantly affected his responsibility for the crime, according to the public prosecutor. 

The court heard that in February 2020, Sandar started working for the victim, Madam Ang Pek Chai, at her home in Serangoon. Mdm Ang,  Sandar's  second employer, lived in a house on Recreation Road with her -year-old son. 78 years old.

He had three other children who lived in neighboring houses. Sandar kept house and was Mdm Ang's main carer. Mdm Ang had difficulty walking and needed a walker and relied on Sandar to get around the house. On the morning of July 6, 2020, Sandar woke up at 5 a.m. m. and he did his homework around 8 a.m. m. when he heard Mdm Ang using the bathroom upstairs. He went upstairs to help her and found Mdm Ang coming out of the bathroom with her walker.

Mdm Ang was angry at Sandar for being late to help her and verbally abused her before spitting in her face more than once. his shirt. He continued with his chores that morning but became angry again when he saw Mdm Ang reading his newspaper as he felt that Mdm Ang was pretending the spitting incident had not happened. Later, Mdm Ang  took a nap in his room. 

While  cleaning a bathroom, Sandar started thinking about the spitting incident. She was upset because she claimed that it wasn't the first time Ms. Ang treated her badly. According to Sandar, Ms Ang had previously verbally abused and hit her. Sandar got angry and wanted to teach the old lady a lesson. He went into the kitchen and grabbed two knives, one 30 cm long and the other 18 cm long.

With a knife in each hand, he went upstairs to Mdm Ang's room. When he got there, he hesitated, pacing. She considered hitting Mdm Ang and telling her how she had suffered, but decided against it. she thought the old woman would not understand her. So he decided to stab Ms. Ang. He went to the bed where Ms. Ang slept and thrust the 30 cm long knife into the woman's mouth and the other knife into the side of her neck. 

Mdm Ang woke up and fought, but Sandar covered her with a blanket and fled with both knives still  in the old woman. He escaped by jumping over a fence and running toward Upper Serangoon Road. She asked a passerby for help getting to a police station, and the passerby called a grabcar for her. When he reached the police station, Sandar said "Ah Ma killed" and gestured with a stabbing motion. They brought her back to the house where Mdm Ang lay in a pool of blood on bed.

The longer knife was in his hand and the other knife was still in his throat. SANDAR'S Psyche A psychiatric report revealed that Sandar was suffering from an adjustment disorder with a depressive mood at the time of the crime. with their duties, communication barriers and social isolation in the months leading up to the crime. His mental abnormality severely affected his mental responsibility and  ability to control his actions, the  court heard.

Deputy prosecutors Han Ming Kuang, Delicia Tan and Grace Chua asked for 18 to 20 years in prison for Sandar. Ms. Chua said that Sandar's action was premeditated and that there was a breach of trust. The victim was also a vulnerable person. , said. Sandar was defended by attorneys Daniel Koh and John Joseph under the capital misdemeanor legal aid program. She was originally  charged with murder.

The defense said Sandar's actual age  at the time of the crime was approximately 50 years. He had lied about his age to improve his chances of getting a job in Singapore. Lawyers said it was a "ripe age" and questioned whether weight should be given, but prosecutors argued against it. In any case, Sandar should have known better than to commit the crime, Ms Chua said. The defense instead asked for 12 to 15 years in prison, citing an early guilty plea, Sandar's near-instant surrender, and his  mental state.

The judge said the court should protect domestic workers from abuse by employers, but there must also be a deterrent against domestic workers who attack their employers. 

Judge Pang Khang Chau noted the psychiatrist's observations that Sandar had been mistreated by Mdm Ang,  that changing jobs was not feasible under the circumstances. He also pointed to the "social isolation" Sandar faced, which prevented him from seeking help. 

Judge Pang said the circumstances concerned actions taken  by Singapore during the circuit breaker period. The offense happened in July 2020, just as Singapore was coming out of that period,  the judge said.

He noticed that Sandar had hesitated before stabbing the victim. When the victim resisted, Sandar did not continue  the stabbing, he said.