To better take care of his 86-year-old mother, who has dementia and is bedridden after a stroke, a 56-year-old man hired a foreign domestic worker.

The employer was told beforehand that the 32-year-old help from Myanmar was "tom-boyish", and he even discovered later that she had been undergoing hormone therapy to "become a man", but he was not bothered as long as she could do her job well.

However, one day, the son discovered that his mother's leg was swollen, and an X-ray showed it was a fracture.

He checked the CCTV footage and saw his domestic worker punching his mother's face four times consecutively.

Jailed for 13 months

Shin Min Daily News and The Straits Times reported that the domestic worker, Oo Win Kyi, was sentenced to 13 months' jail on Nov. 10, 2023, after pleading guilty to a charge of assaulting a vulnerable person.

Another charge was taken into consideration.

The court heard that Oo was caught on video punching the elderly woman in the face four times, causing her to fall and fracture her thighbone on Oct. 19, 2023.

However, beyond the single episode of assault that resulted in the domestic worker being charged and convicted, the employer's recounting of events to Shin Min painted a picture that indicated the long-term abuse of the victim had occurred.

Agency said she might be "tom-boyish"

Xue, Oo's employer, told Shin Min that his mother has dementia and was bedridden after a stroke.

He hired Oo in February 2022 to take care of her.

The agency told him beforehand that Oo might be "tom-boyish", but he said he did not mind, even after he discovered that she had been taking male hormones to "become a man".

He even bought her an ab wheel.

Started noticing bruises and wounds on mother's body

However, two months after hiring Oo, Xue started noticing his mother had wounds on her fingers.

When confronted, Oo claimed that the elderly woman bit herself.

While Xue took her word for it, he soon discovered bruises on his mother's body and face more frequently.

Every time Oo was confronted, she would blame it on the elderly woman.

Xue did not suspect Oo, as he once took his mother to the doctor, and the doctor told him that it was "normal" for immobile elderly to have bruises on their body.

Four punches causing mother to fall and fracture leg

However, on Oct. 19, Oo told Xue that his mother's left leg was swelling abnormally.

As usual, Oo claimed the woman fell by herself, but Xue suspected something was amiss.

He brought his mother to the hospital, and an X-ray discovered her thighbone had fractured.

It was then that surveillance footage was checked to to uncover Oo's actions.

What surveillance footage showed

The footage revealed that Oo placed Xue's mother on the edge of her bed to help her stand up to exercise.

Xue's mother slumped onto the floor instead.

Oo pulled her back onto the bed and then punched her face four times, causing her to fall and fracture her thighbone.

Used ab wheel to hit her

Xue told Shin Min that his family checked the footage for previous instances of abuse.

They found out Oo had abused Xue's mother on another occasion on Oct. 17, when she bit the elderly woman's hand and used the ab wheel to hit her other hand.

Xue's mother has been hospitalised since the incident on Oct. 19 and has yet to recover fully.

Judge's remarks

According to ST, the district judge said acts of violence against vulnerable victims are unacceptable, and the court has to "make it absolutely clear", especially when it's committed by people whose primary duty is to take care of the victims.

The judge also pointed out that the victim may not be able to understand or even tell anyone about the abuse.

He said he felt that the sentence of 13 months' imprisonment was appropriate considering the "outrageous harm she inflicted on a wholly defenceless victim".

Top image via Shin Min Daily News