Woman acquitted of maid abuse on appeal after judge finds inconsistencies

Discrepancies in evidence were central aspects of assertions underlying the charges

- Selina Lum

A 60-year-old woman who was handed 10 months' jail in 2023 for abusing two of her domestic workers in her Sentosa Cove home succeeded in her appeal on Feb 14 and was acquitted of the charges she faced.

In overturning the conviction of Ms Tan Lee Hoon, High Court judge Aidan Xu set out multiple unresolved material inconsistencies between the helpers' testimonies in court and their police statements.

He noted that inconsistencies in testimonies are to be expected and that the court "must be careful not to require superhuman standards of recollection".

But a number of the inconsistencies were central components of the factual assertions underlying the charges against Ms Tan.

These aspects included the number of times force was used, how the hurt was caused, the sequence of events, and the triggering event or cause of the assault.

For instance, one helper told the police that two incidents occurred two weeks apart but, in court, she said they happened on the same day.

The other helper was inconsistent as to the number of pinches she allegedly suffered, and whether a particular incident took place in the bedroom or living room.