Domestic helper, 34, in S'pore slaps & hits elderly woman with dementia after getting angry while feeding her

A 34-year-old Indonesian foreign domestic worker in Singapore was sentenced on Sep. 4 to 11 weeks' jail after she slapped and hit a 69-year-old woman with dementia who was under her care.

Maria Inggrid Seran, who had been looking after the elderly woman since March 2023, was aware of her medical conditions, CNA reported.

As such, she knew the elderly woman was vulnerable.

Medical conditions

The victim suffered from multiple medical conditions which included Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, diverticulosis and hyperlipidaemia.

CNA reported that she was also non-communicative and could not be interviewed for investigations.

The elderly woman had previously lost the ability to feed and care for herself in November 2025.

Seran had to help her get on and off her bed, as well as onto her wheelchair.

Incident

Subsequently on Apr. 20, when Seran was trying to feed her breakfast, she got angry after the elderly woman became frustrated.

Seran slapped her twice on the face and once on her head, before hitting her hand, legs, feet and pinching her nose two times, CNA reported.

A CCTV in the house captured her actions.

The elderly woman's son called the police the same evening after his brother sent him a video of Seran beating their mother.

Seran was then arrested.

While medical checks did not reveal any injuries, Seran's assault still caused the elderly woman pain on her head, face, legs, hands and nose.

According to CNA, Seran also admitted that it was not the first time she had assaulted the victim and had done so in the past to stop her from nagging.

She claimed that this would make the woman quiet out of fear.

Sentencing

Seran, who was unrepresented during mitigation, spoke through the court interpreter and asked for a lighter sentence.

Pointing out that Seran's crimes would have been difficult to detect if not for the CCTV footage, the prosecution called for 11 to 13 weeks' jail.

CNA reported that the punishment for voluntarily causing hurt is a jail of up to three years, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.

If the offender knew or should have known the victim was a vulnerable person, they may be sentenced to up to twice the maximum punishment.