A 38-year-old Filipina domestic helper in Singapore was jailed for two months after pleading guilty to one count of ill-treating a young child.

The abuse, which was captured by a CCTV camera installed in her employer’s flat, took place on April 25.

The Filipina maid, who had been working in Singapore for the past six years. cannot be named after a gag order was issued.

According to court records, the four-month-old baby’s mother, 39, employed the nanny to take care of her four children and perform household chores.

In the afternoon of April 25, the mother left her youngest child, the infant, in the maid’s care while she took her daughter out for a tuition class. The mother was still outside her home at around 2:25pm when she decided to view live feeds of the CCTV footage on her mobile phone to check if her son was awake.

To her horror, the mother witnessed the maid physically abusing the baby on the sofa where she slapped the baby’s face and repeatedly punched the sole of his feet. She also used her index finger to forcefully push the left side of the baby’s face.

The mother later reported the incident at Bukit Timah Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Investigations soon revealed that the maid, who was not represented by a lawyer in court, became frustrated at the time and took her feelings out on the baby. In her mitigation, she told District Judge Low Wee Ping yesterday that she was then under a lot of stress as she had marital problems back home.

The maid also said she had worked for her victim’s mother for three years and had a good working relationship with the family.

Judge Low said the infant was vulnerable and could not voice out his plight. The maid could have been jailed up to four years and fined up to S$4,000 for the outburst.

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