Jennet A.B., a domestic worker, heaved an audible sigh of relief
inside the courtroom after Magistrate Jason Wan Siuming junked the
“assault occasioning actual bodily harm” case against her on April 17.
Jennet and the boy were having a “pillow fight” in his bed when the
Filipina allegedly hit him in the face. Jennet said the boy
accidentally hit a window sill and she even called her female employer
to tell her about what happened. But when the female employer got home
later, the boy told her that Jennet hit him. The Filipina was accused
of hitting her ward on the face while they were playing inside his
bedroom on October 29 last year.
However, the judge said the prosecution failed to prove beyond
reasonable doubt that Jennet intended to hurt the boy. Because during
the trial, defense lawyer Vandana Rajwani questioned the boy, who
admitted that it was an accident and “it was nobody’s fault.” The boy
changed his tune and said the “accident” was different from the
incident when Jennet supposedly hit him. The Judge find the defendant
not guilty of the charge…(The boy) gave confusing and sometimes
contradictory evidence even on the most important issue. His evidence
is not clear so the court cannot be sure (of Jennet’s alleged guilt).
The medical evidence shows that he had an injury but it’s not clear
how he got it. There are doubts that cannot be resolved. “The evidence
provided by this boy is self-contradictory,” Rajwani said. “And when
he gave evidence, there were no tears or emotion. It was not a harsh
memory of abuse (for him). He just looked tired or bored,” she added.
She noted that the boy claimed that he cried for two hours after
Jennet hit him but CCTV footage showed him sleeping afterwards.
Because of her four-year-old ward’s conflicting testimony in court, a
Filipina was acquitted of child abuse charges in the Eastern
Magistrates’ Courts.
Judge Wan said to prove an “assault occasioning actual bodily harm”
case, prosecutors should be able to show the “hostile intent” of the
assailant. Because he said, he believe that this principle should also
be applied to domestic helpers. Hostile intent should be proven.
“Otherwise, it is not a case of abuse…it is not a case of assault,”the
Judge added.
He noted that sometimes even parents who hit their children are
acquitted of this charge because they reason out that they were only
trying to discipline their children. A reminder to all OFW, please be
very careful if you are working as domestic helper and you take care
kids. Once they tell something to their parents, the parents
automatically believe their children's story. So many helper gets
terminated by their employer because of wrong accusation of the
children. You done everything for their family but you are still
nothing. You are lucky if your employer did not tolerate their
children's tantrums. I hope this story can help those who want to work
abroad. take some lesson from what happen to our fellow domestic helper.
