Irritated that his emaciated maid was falling asleep while eating, the husband of a convicted maid abuser allegedly grabbed the maid by her hair and lifted her off the ground.
When this was read out in court on Thursday on the first day of his trial, police officer Kevin Chelvam, 44, stared blankly into space.
Chelvam was the registered employer of Myanmar national Piang Ngaih Don, 24, who died following prolonged and heinous abuse while under his employment, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh in her opening address.
Chelvam was suspended from the police force in August 2016, days after Ms Piang’s death.
He claimed trial to four charges, including one charge of voluntarily causing hurt and another charge of abetment of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Ms Piang by starvation.
His ex-wife, Gaiyathiri Murugayan, 43, was sentenced in June 2021 to 30 years in prison. Prema S. Naraynasamy, 64, who joined her daughter Gaiyathiri in torturing the maid, was sentenced to 14 years’ jail in January.
DPP Koh said Chelvam was fully aware of the atrocities that occurred under his roof.
She said: “Evidence will be led to show that Chelvam had knowledge of the daily abuse of the deceased and had even participated in it himself.
“While Chelvam did not participate in the fatal assault, he was aware that the deceased was physically abused by Gaiyathiri and Prema on a regular basis, and that the deceased’s physical condition had deteriorated as a result.
“His guilty knowledge of the deceased’s starvation will allow this court to infer that he made a conscious choice not to intervene and hence abetted Gaiyathiri by illegal omission.”
The trial continues.
The Straits Times
