A week into her first job in Singapore, a domestic helper told her employer that she wanted to return to the maid agency, as her employer's wife and daughter were never satisfied with her work performance.
However, instead of being sent back as she requested, the maid suffered mounting abuse from the family, including having hot liquid splashed on her and a heated iron pressed on her.
A neighbour eventually called the police after hearing sustained shouting at the helper from midnight to 5.45am (local time).
Former events manager Tan Pei Ling, 46, was sentenced to 20 months' jail on Tuesday and ordered to pay the victim S$20,000 (US$14,762) in compensation.
She pleaded guilty to two charges, with another three charges taken into consideration.
Her mother, 68-year-old Tan Ai Tee, was given nine months' jail and a S$2,500 (US$1,845) compensation order. She admitted to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt with an instrument for cutting, with another two charges taken into consideration.
Pei Ling's father, Grab driver and part-time mover Tan Huat, 70, was handed three weeks' jail and has to pay S$500 (US$369) in compensation for one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a maid.
Huat hired the victim, 27-year-old Indonesian national Heni Rahayu, in January 2020. She was tasked with chores for the family, who lived in an Ang Mo Kio flat.
She usually started work at 6am and slept only at 2am to 4am, as she was required to finish her chores before sleeping.
She communicated in Bahasa Indonesia but was not fluent in English, so she could speak fluently only to Huat, who knew Bahasa Melayu.
After about a week of working for the Tans, the victim told Huat that she wanted to return to the maid agency as she felt the two women were never satisfied with her work performance.
Sometime after this, Ai Tee began hitting the victim if she failed to complete housework to her satisfaction. She knocked the maid's head with her fist and struck her with a plastic pail.
A Singapore woman and her parents were jailed for abusing their domestic helper. (Photo: South China Morning Post)
Around June 2020, her daughter Pei Ling began hitting the victim as well, including with a plastic chair and metal pole.
Huat slapped the victim twice on the mouth on one occasion in June 2020, telling her to reply his wife and daughter if they were talking to her. This was the only time he hit the helper.
The victim did not tell Huat about the other abuse as she felt he would not be able to help her as the women were his family members.
She also did not seek help from the other family members in the household - Pei Ling's brother and son - as she could not communicate with them and felt they would not be able to help her.
She was unable to contact her maid agency as she was not allowed to have a mobile phone. She also had no days off and was not allowed to leave the flat on her own.
Sometime between April and June 2020, Ai Tee felt the victim was cutting vegetables too slowly.
After scolding her, Ai Tee took the knife from her and injured the victim's hand with it.
Ai Tee sought her daughter's help to stop the bleeding, but they did not take her to the doctor.
At about 2.30am on July 23, 2020, the victim was performing household chores as she was not allowed to sleep until she finished.
Feeling hungry and sleepy, she went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
Pei Ling entered the kitchen and grew angry at the victim for stealing coffee, so she splashed the coffee at her. She also threatened the maid that she would not be allowed to sleep or eat if she did not finish ironing all the clothes by 5am.
Later that morning, Pei Ling burnt the helper on the arm with a heated iron.
A neighbour called the police at 5.46am that day, saying he suspected that his neighbour was ill-treating their helper.
He said he heard the employer constantly shouting at the woman, who was still mopping the floor at midnight.
The police arrived soon after and the victim was taken to hospital, where various injuries were found on her head and body.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Derek Ee asked for three to six weeks' jail for Huat, who hit the victim once.
The offences by Ai Tee and Pei Ling took place against a broader pattern of abuse over the months of the victim's work in the household, he said.
He asked for nine to 12 months' jail for Ai Tee, and between 20 and 22 months' jail for Pei Ling.
He also asked that the court make compensation orders of S$500 against Huat, S$2,500 against Ai Tee and S$20,000 against Pei Ling.
He said that the events that took place on the morning of July 23, 2020, were "extremely harrowing" for the victim.
Defence lawyer Vinodh Visvanathan asked for leniency for his clients, citing how substantial jail terms would affect the elderly couple, especially Ai Tee.
He listed her medical conditions including diabetes and various skin conditions.
He also asked the court to consider the effect imprisonment may have on Pei Ling's son. He said Pei Ling accepts that there is a price to pay, but she is a single parent with sole custody and the sole breadwinner for the family.
The lawyer also asked for various deferments so the child can be looked after while his mother or grandparents serve sentences.
He said Pei Ling submitted her resignation letter at the beginning of February but has to serve a notice period.
District Judge Luke Tan said there was no doubt that foreign domestic workers are a protected class, and that it was not the Tans' first time employing a maid.
"Sadly for the victim in this case, during her period of employment, at various times, she was subjected to abuse."
Huat will begin his jail term on Tuesday. The judge allowed his wife and daughter to begin their imprisonment terms on April 3.