Cop is last abuser convicted in case of Myanmar maid tortured to death

He abetted ex-wife in starving victim, removed evidence of repeated abuse

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Suspended police officer Kevin Chelvam has been convicted of four charges linked to one of Singapore's worst maid abuse cases involving the death of a domestic helper.

On April 10, the 46-year-old Traffic Police officer was the last of three people to be convicted of abusing Myanmar domestic helper Piang Ngaih Don, who weighed a mere 24kg when she died in 2016.

She had not been given sufficient food for at least 35 days.

When she started working for Chelvam's family on May 28, 2015, she weighed 39kg.

After a trial, District Judge Teoh Ai Lin convicted Chelvam of one count of abetting his then wife Gaiyathiri Murugayan to voluntarily cause grievous hurt by starving Ms Piang Ngaih Don.

Chelvam, who was her registered employer, was also convicted of one count of voluntarily causing hurt by grabbing her hair and lifting her body off the ground.

His bail was set at $20,000 on April 10 and he is expected to be sentenced on July 17.

More than 10 people, including his mother, were seated in the gallery when the judge gave her verdict. Some of them bowed their heads during the sombre proceedings that lasted around 90 minutes.

Judge Teoh noted that Chelvam had claimed that he grabbed the domestic helper's hair to wake her up. But she found this to be implausible, saying that CCTV footage also showed him kicking Ms Piang Ngaih Don that day.

The judge added that as the domestic helper was eating slowly at the time and deemed to be in the way of a planned family outing, Chelvam's actions showed that he was frustrated with Ms Piang Ngaih Don.

The judge also noted that, at the time of her death, the domestic helper had a body mass index of only 11.3, putting her in the severely undernourished range.

This is far from the healthy range of between 18.5 and 22.9.

Judge Teoh said: "(Chelvam's) legal duty was to ensure that (Ms Piang Ngaih Don) received sufficient food."