S'porean woman, 29, jailed for making helper do squats while saying 'I am stupid' & 'I am crazy'

A domestic helper in Singapore was made to do squats until she suffered leg cramps and could not stand properly, while being ordered by her employer to say phrases such as “I am stupid” and “I am crazy”.

Her employer, 29-year-old Singaporean Eylaiza Benazir D/O Mohamad Ausman, was sentenced on May 7 to seven months’ jail and fined S$5,000.

She pleaded guilty to one charge of assault involving the helper and an unrelated harassment charge involving a nurse at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), The Straits Times reported.

Made helper do squats

On Jul. 23, 2024, at about 6:30pm, Eylaiza returned home and became angry with the helper over several work issues.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the helper had helped Eylaiza’s five-year-old daughter put on a jacket because the child wanted to wear it and thought it looked pretty.

Eylaiza was unhappy as she believed her daughter would feel too hot, and instructed the helper to perform 20 squats while saying the Malay words “saya bodoh”, which means “I am stupid” in English.

While the helper was doing the squats, Eylaiza checked the fridge and noticed that the helper had not put frozen food in the chiller compartment as well.

She then ordered the helper to do another 20 squats, this time while saying “saya gila”, meaning “I am crazy” in English.

After completing the second set of squats, the helper was unable to stand properly due to cramps in her legs, court documents stated.

A short while later, Eylaiza became unhappy that the helper had bought sweet potatoes from Indonesia instead of Japan. She threw one of the potatoes at the helper’s left shin, causing her pain.

Eylaiza then told the helper to do another 20 squats while saying “I am crazy”.

The helper tried to comply but could not complete all the squats because of the cramps in her legs.

Eylaiza’s husband then intervened and tried to stop her from punishing the helper.

Helper escaped after saying she was taking out rubbish

The abuse did not stop there.

A short time later, Eylaiza pulled the helper’s ear and dragged her towards the fridge.

The helper had to take about three steps forward while her ear was being pulled to prevent pain to her ear, according to court documents.

Later, while the helper was washing a milk bottle, Eylaiza noticed that there was still soap in the bottle.

She then filled the bottle with water, splashed the water on the helper’s face, and pushed her left shoulder.

Later that evening, as she “could no longer tolerate being verbally and physically abused” by Eylaiza, the helper escaped from the flat by saying that she was going out to dispose of rubbish.

She then called the police using another person’s phone, saying:

“Employer fighting with me. I now downstairs. Using other people phone to call police.”

The next day, the helper was examined at Woodlands Health and found to have tenderness over both shins, resulting in pain and difficulty walking.

She was given pain relief medication.

Also harassed KKH nurse in unrelated incident

Eylaiza was also fined S$5,000 for an unrelated incident at KKH on Mar. 6, 2024.

Court documents stated that she had brought her then five-month-old son to KKH at about 5am as he was coughing.

Her son was warded with her consent and hospital staff later informed her that he had bronchitis.

Throughout the day, Eylaiza became "increasingly dissatisfied with the level of care provided by the hospital" and later said she wanted to discharge her son,

This was despite doctors advising against it as he was suffering from a serious medical condition.

She refused to sign a “Discharge Against Medical Advice” form and began raising her voice at KKH staff, including a 67-year-old nurse clinician.

At about 9:53pm, Eylaiza called the police, saying:

“I am having issues with the doctor here who refuse to let me and my child leave”.

When police officers arrived, she raised her voice at them as well and refused to lower her volume or continue the conversation in a separate room away from public view, despite being asked to do so more than 10 times.

Called police officer "sassy like a girl"

During the dispute, Eylaiza berated the nurse by saying “what a joke”, “I also work in a clinic… we know how it is supposed to run, we don’t provide this kind of sh*tty service”, and “you better think before you talk, because you might not be as bright”, among other insults.

While the nurse was trying to de-escalate the situation, Eylaiza said to her, “that means you are talking sh*t to me”.

Police officers then told her, “Ma’am, can you mind your language”, to which Eylaiza replied, “I cannot”.

She also falsely claimed that the officers were pushing her and told one of them that he was “so sassy like a girl”.

When the officer asked what she had said, Eylaiza moved closer to him and repeated the phrase two more times.

Prosecution said behaviour was “humiliating and degrading”

For the harassment charge at KKH, the prosecution sought the maximum fine of S$5,000, noting that Eylaiza’s comments were “not merely fleeting” but continued over a two-hour interaction.

Turning to the abuse of the domestic helper, the prosecution said the case involved both physical and psychological harm.

While the helper did not suffer lasting injuries, she experienced pain and difficulty walking.

The prosecution also submitted that Eylaiza’s behaviour towards the helper was “clearly humiliating and degrading”.

The prosecution sought a starting point of at least nine months’ jail for the assault charge, before a reduction for Eylaiza’s guilty plea.