Footage recorded between June and July 2016 by cameras installed in their three-bedroom flat in Bishan shows Prema kicking and punching the victim and pulling her up from the ground by her hair and shaking her head violently. — Image by fabrikasimf on Freepik
SINGAPORE: The woman who, together with her daughter, tortured Myanmar maid Piang Ngaih Don to death has admitted that she tried to hide surveillance footage of the abuse.
Prema S. Naraynasamy, 64, pleaded guilty to one charge of instigating her son-in-law, Kevin Chelvam, to cause evidence of the abuse, which was captured by cameras the family installed in the Bishan flat, to disappear.
The court on Thursday heard that she directed him to dismantle the hard disk drive from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system in their home.
Prema, who appeared in court via video-link wearing a black mask, kept her head down during proceedings.
Chelvam, who is a former police officer, faces multiple charges in relation to the abuse. He is claiming trial, and his case is expected to be heard in July.
Piang Ngaih Don, who weighed 39kg when she started working for the family on May 28, 2015, was a mere 24kg when she died on July 26, 2016.
The 24-year-old, who was also starved, did not recover from injuries sustained by assaults by Prema and her daughter, Gaiyathiri Murugayan, 41.
Prema was sentenced to 14 years’ jail in January after she pleaded guilty to 47 charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the maid and one charge of attempting to voluntarily cause hurt.
Prema had originally faced a murder charge, but was later given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the charge.
The court heard that Prema had assaulted the victim herself on many occasions. She also joined Gaiyathiri, a housewife, when her daughter beat the domestic helper.
Gaiyathiri, who has since been divorced from Chelvam, was sentenced on June 22, 2021, to 30 years in prison – the longest jail term meted out here in a maid abuse case.
Footage recorded between June and July 2016 by cameras installed in their three-bedroom flat in Bishan shows Prema kicking and punching the victim and pulling her up from the ground by her hair and shaking her head violently.
Prema also used objects like a bamboo pole and chopping board to hit Ms Piang Ngaih Don.
In the last 12 days of her life, she was tied to the window grille at night while she slept on the floor in the same room as Prema, who slept on a bed.
On the night of July 25, 2016, the maid was assaulted by Gaiyathiri and Prema for being too slow in doing laundry.
Gaiyathiri continued assaulting the maid the next morning and choked her. A few hours later, a doctor pronounced her dead in the flat.
Prema knew the surveillance cameras in the flat would have captured the abuse.
In trying to prevent the police from getting access to the footage, Prema told Chelvam to dismantle and disconnect the recorder from the camera, and to hand the device to her.
Prema then hid the recorder in her daughter-in-law Isabella’s bag when she arrived at the flat later that day.
While Isabella was unaware of the significance of the recorder, Prema told her to “do something with it”. Isabella then passed the recorder to her husband, who gave it to a friend.
Isabella and her husband handed the footage to the police when investigators turned up at their home.
Seeking at least three years’ jail for Prema, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh said: “The present case flows from one of the most horrific cases of a domestic helper that cumulated to her death.”
He noted that Prema instigated the removal of the footage, which was ultimately of great value in establishing the offences.
“In fact, all the maid abuse charges for Gaiyathiri and Prema have stemmed from the CCTV footage,” the DPP said, adding that her sentence should start only after she has served the 14 years’ jail term for abuse.
Defence lawyer Rai Satish sought between 18 and 24 months’ jail for his client, arguing that the term should run concurrently with her current sentence.
“There is a distinct possibility that with her old age and sickness, she may pass away in prison,” said Mr Satish.
“What was in the forefront of her mind when she did this was to protect her daughter, Gaiyathiri. There was no premeditation... It was motherly instinct.”
The case was adjourned and Prema is expected to be sentenced on June 26. – The Straits Times (Singapore)/Asia News Network
