At least one year jail term has been sought for a couple who had starved their Filipina maid in Malaysia, local media reports said.
Freelance trader Lim Choon Hong and housewife Chong Sui Foon, both 48, had deprived Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, now 41, of adequate food causing the mother of three to go from 49kg to 29.4kg in 15 months between 2013 and 2014, reported Malaysian Digest.
“It is sickening that the victim had been forced to endure inhumane treatment of such cruelty and duration in what must have for her been an unspeakably hellish and unbearable existence,” Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Soo Tet reportedly said
He was quoted as saying that even though Chong has a history of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), there was no link between her mental condition and her offence. “She deliberately and selectively exercised blatant discrimination against the victim,” he added.
DPP Tan reportedly told District Judge Low Wee Ping that Lim was jointly responsible in restricting Madam Gawidan’s food over the entire period of her employment from Jan 23, 2013 to April 18, 2014.
He said when the maid approached Lim directly to ask for more food, he denied her request and told her to eat what she had been given.
DPP Tan reportedly said: “He personally purchased the plain white bread and instant noodles meant for the victim’s sole and exclusive consumption. He was expressly aware of the food portions and meals which the victim was being provided, including the quantity and type of food, as well as the frequency and timing of the victim’s meals.”
On Thursday, the couple’s lawyer, Raymond Lye told the court that the couple has decided to give Madam Gawidan $10,000 in compensation.
He also reportedly asked the judge to consider a mandatory treatment order (MTO) or probation for Chong.
An MTO is for offenders who suffer from psychiatric conditions. They must go for psychiatric treatment in lieu of jail time, said the news portal.
But Judge Low reportedly denied his request, stressing there was no evidence that her OCD extended to an obsession and compulsion of restricting Madam Gawidan’s food and starving her.
On March 23, last year, Lim reportedly pleaded guilty to failing to provide Madam Gawidan with adequate food, causing the weight loss.
Chong pleaded guilty to abetting him in committing the offence, the report said.
The couple, who have three children between 17 and 22 years old, will be back in court on March 16, reported Malyasian Digest.
