SINGAPORE, July 23 — A High Court judge on Friday dismissed a 39-year-old maid abuser’s appeal against her jail time, after she asked twice for a report to be called to assess her suitability for a community-based sentence.
Ong, a mother of two young children, was sentenced to six months’ jail in the State Courts earlier this year after pleading guilty to her offences. At the time, District Judge Eddy Tham rejected her lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu’s argument for a mandatory treatment order suitability report to be called.
The defence counsel noted that an Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist had found that she suffered from postnatal depression at the time, which she developed after giving birth to her second son. This, however, only partially contributed to her offences. Nevertheless, he conceded that the district judge had given her some sentencing discount for her mental illness. She is still going for treatment at IMH.
In dismissing Ong’s appeal, Justice Tay said that District Judge Tham applied the correct sentencing principles in relation to maid abuse.