Foreign domestic worker gets life imprisonment for suffocating employer, 73, to death in Bishan flat over theft accusation

A foreign domestic worker has been sentenced to life imprisonment for suffocating her elderly employer in his Bishan unit after he questioned her about stealing jewellery from his wife.

On Jul. 29, Sumiyati, a 53-year-old Indonesian national, pleaded guilty to one charge of murder causing the death of a 73-year-old man, and the judge convicted her of the offence.

In her mitigation plea, read to the court by her lawyer, she claimed that she was hypnotised by the black magic of a person in Indonesia around the time of the offence.

Sumiyati was in tears in court.

However, when the judge asked if the murder was a voluntary act she committed on her own, Sumiyati said "yes" through her lawyer.

Took care of the deceased

Sumiyati was employed by the deceased's family at the time of the incident on Apr. 28, 2022.

She was hired by the deceased man's daughter in September 2019 to take care of him.

The deceased used a wheelchair due to mobility issues.

Her other responsibilities included cleaning and cooking.

From then up to the day of the offence, she was living with the deceased, his wife, and his daughter, in their unit at Block 222 Bishan Street 23.

According to the prosecution, she had no complaints about her employers.

The accused said the deceased was caring and gentle to her.

The family in turn was satisfied with her performance.

When her contract was due to expire in 2022, Sumiyati had wanted to leave and return to Indonesia, but the deceased persuaded her to stay.

She agreed as she needed money to support her young children.

Theft

On separate occasions between Apr. 12 and 21, 2022, Sumiyati stole three gold rings, one gold bracelet, and a pair of gold earrings from the deceased's wife, knowing they were stored in an unlocked drawer.

She sold the items at a nearby pawn shop for cash.

When the deceased's wife confronted her, she handed over the pawn tickets and said she will redeem the loss in June or July 2022.

The family decided not to lodge a police report after the deceased asked them to give her another chance.

To date, Sumiyati has made no restitution to the wife for the stolen jewellery, valued at about S$1,470.

The murder

On the afternoon of Apr. 28, 2022, the deceased started questioning Sumiyati about stealing jewellery from his wife for about 30 minutes.

She felt angry about being accused of theft and about his incessant nagging, and was afraid of being reported to the police.

She weighed several options of killing the deceased, including stabbing and strangling him, but eventually decided on suffocating him with a pillow.

This way, she would not have to see his face and feel bad when killing him.

She also thought that it would not leave injuries on his body, and others might believe he died naturally due to his old age if there were no injuries.

She covered his face with a pillow and suffocated him for about 30 minutes.

She then packed her belongings, stole S$70 cash, two phones, and a pair of earrings belonging to the deceased's wife. She later pawned one of the phones for S$20.

The deceased was discovered unconscious in the unit by his wife, who called an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Sumiyati was arrested by the police the next day.

Allegedly victim of scams

In the mitigation plea, Sumiyati's lawyer told the court that she suffered a few failed marriages, the first of which she was subject to domestic violence by her ex-husband.

He added that she grew up in a village in Indonesia, and has little command of English.

She spoke through a Bahasa Indonesia interpreter and her lawyer in court.

She was only educated in primary school up to the age of 14, having to leave school due to her family’s financial situation.

She also claimed to have been a victim of scams by three different men in Indonesia.

She was attached romantically to the first man even though she never met him and only spoke to him over the phone. Promising to marry her, he got her to transfer 25 million rupiah (S$1,790) to him, then stopped contacting her.

Sumiyati later met another man she was convinced had spiritual powers in black magic, and she transferred 60 million rupiah (S$4,295) to him to help her make the first man marry her.

In court, the judge clarified repeatedly whether Sumiyati's claim that she was hypnotised by this man's black magic to kill the deceased was not suggesting that she was acting involuntarily.

In other words, the murder was a voluntary act of her own initiative.

Through her lawyer, Sumiyati affirmed this.

The prosecution accepted that it was Sumiyati version of the events that she was scammed, but argued that these allegations are background facts "far removed" from the thefts, the motivation of the killing, and the actual killing itself.

Sentencing

In her sentencing, the judge took into consideration that a psychiatric report by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) previously assessed Sumiyati to not have an intellectual disability and was not of unsound mind during the offence.

A doctor had diagnosed her with borderline intellectual functioning, but the judge and prosecution argued that it does not go to the issue of guilt over the offence.

In considering whether to mete out the death penalty, the judge said the degree of planning was limited — Sumiyati had hatched the plan spontaneously that afternoon after becoming angry at being falsely accused.

While the judge called the murder a "horrific tragedy", she noted it was not a case where the accused could be said to have exhibited viciousness or a blatant disregard of human life deserving of death.

She ultimately sentenced Sumiyati to life imprisonment backdated to the date of her remand on Apr. 30, 2022.

Sumyati's lawyer said he was informed by her to "extend her greatest apologies to the family of the victim", and that she seeks their forgiveness.