Maid relates how boss' wife pinched her during massage

One of the two maids allegedly abused by their employer's wife in her Sentosa Cove home had to massage the woman before she slept, and was purportedly pinched by her when she was unhappy with the massage.

Tan Lee Hoon, 56, is in court for five counts of voluntarily causing hurt to Ms Jenefer Vegafria Arangote, 39, and another three charges involving Ms Joan Lozares Lizardo, 33. Both are Filipino nationals.

Tan is represented by lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Diana Ngiam of Quahe Woo & Palmer LLC.

Yesterday, the second day of the trial, Ms Arangote told the court that she worked irregular hours at Tan's house.

At times, she slept at 1pm or 2pm and woke up later at 5pm or 6pm before working through the night, the court heard.

Part of her duties involved massaging Tan before the woman slept, which was also at irregular timings.

According to Mr Sudheesan, Tan had multiple medical conditions and had difficulty sleeping.

Ms Arangote said that it was on two occasions when she was giving a massage that Tan pinched her - twice in the arm in one instance and twice in the chest in another - which caused bruises.

She said that Tan was unhappy with her massage in those instances, but disagreed with Mr Sudheesan's suggestion that his client was demonstrating massage techniques which she misinterpreted as pinches.

This was even as she agreed with Mr Sudheesan that Tan had liked hard massages and had shown the maids how to massage her.

She also recalled two other instances when Tan pinched her, including an incident when she had accidentally knocked down a statue outside the house.

She took photographs of her injuries using her mobile phone, and sent them to a friend and her boyfriend then.

Ms Arangote, who was hazy on the dates of all the incidents she testified to in court, said that her mobile phone was confiscated by Tan after the latter had another maid, known as Emily, sent home.

The court also heard that she witnessed Tan abusing Ms Lizardo in three instances.

Tan had hit Ms Lizardo on the head while the latter was helping her put on her socks and later kicked the maid in the chest when wearing her shoes, said Ms Arangote.

Tan also struck Ms Lizardo with a stick while both maids were in the kitchen, she added.

Tan's trial is expected to resume today.

If found guilty, she can be jailed for up to three years, or fined up to $7,500, or both for each offence.

Tan's husband Sim Guan Huat is accused of employing Ms Lizardo without a valid work pass from Oct 23, 2015 to Dec 1, 2016, among other charges.

His case is also expected to be heard in court today.