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Starved, beaten with hammer, forced to sleep with dog: worst domestic worker abuse cases of Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia

  • The Singaporeans jailed this week for ordering their domestic worker to eat her own vomit were not a one-off
  • From Hong Kong’s Erwiana to an Indonesian beaten with bamboo, here are some of Asia’s most notorious cases of helper abuse

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Suyanti Sutrinso. Photo: The Straits Times
A Singaporean couple who force-fed their domestic worker with a funnel, ordered her to eat her own vomit and threatened to hire an assassin to kill her family if she reported them were jailed on Monday.
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The pair – who were sentenced two years ago in a separate case regarding the abuse of an Indonesian domestic worker – caned and kicked Myanmar national Moe Moe Than, 32, and also forced her to perform chores in her underwear.

Chia Yun Ling, 43, was sentenced to 47 months in prison and fined S$4,000 (US$2,962). She was ordered to pay Than S$6,500 in compensation.

Her husband, Tay Wee Kiat, 41, was jailed for 24 months and ordered to pay S$3,000 in compensation.

Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore have seen their fair share of domestic worker abuse. Here are some of the worst incidents over the years.
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STARVED TO DEATH

A Malaysian couple were convicted of deliberately starving their Indonesian domestic worker to death in June 2011.
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