SINGAPORE - An Indonesian maid who pleaded guilty to ill-treating a bedridden boy was sentenced to four months' jail on Thursday (March 23).
For eight minutes on Nov 23 last year, Kusrini Caslan Arja, 37, continuously inserted her right hand into the mouth of the four-year-old boy to fish out a medical suction cap that had fallen in.
She did not stop when his face turned purple and when her hand was smeared with blood from his mouth.
On March 6, Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Ji called for an 18-month jail term after Kusrini pleaded guilty to ill-treating the boy, saying the child was extremely vulnerable and could not seek help.
But District Judge Low Wee Ping said the prosecution's sentencing proposal was "manifestly excessive", adding that unlike those of other convicted foreign maids who had intentionally ill-treated children out of anger, Kusrini had not set out to harm the boy.
Judge Low said she was not a trained nurse, and footage from a CCTV camera placed near the boy's bed showed that the maid was trying to get the suction cap.
