Woman who abused Myanmar maid to death testifies against policeman ex-husband

SINGAPORE – A woman who starved and tortured her maid from Myanmar until she died said on Tuesday her former husband had hurt their helper about a month before her death.

Gaiyathiri Murugayan, 43, who had been sentenced to 30 years’ jail in June 2021, was back in court as a prosecution witness against her former husband, suspended police staff sergeant Kevin Chelvam.

Chelvam, 44, is being tried on four charges, including one for voluntarily causing hurt to Ms Piang Ngaih Don, 24. He had allegedly grabbed her hair and lifted her off the ground on June 24, 2016, at about 4pm.

Ms Piang Ngaih Don, a single mother of a three-year-old boy, arrived in Singapore to work for the family in May 2015. It was her first time working in a foreign country.

She died on July 26, 2016, in the couple’s Bishan flat.

Gaiyathiri and Chelvam, who were divorced in 2019 and have two children, sat across each other in the courtroom on the eighth day of his trial.

On Tuesday morning, Chelvam’s lawyer Pratap Kishan had asked Gaiyathiri if she would like to view a closed-circuit television recording of the June 24, 2016 incident, as he had questions about it.

She declined, saying it took a lot for her to recover from the trauma.

But as she said she could not recall what had happened when deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Stephanie Koh asked about it again later in the day, the prosecutor played the footage in court.

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It showed Chelvam picking Ms Piang Ngaih Don up by her hair and dropping her to the floor in their flat. Gaiyathiri agreed this would have hurt the maid.

In response to a question from Mr Pratap, Gaiyathiri said it was she, and not Chelvam, who would monitor the eating habits and the daily work of the maid.

She said Chelvam’s responsibility as the sole breadwinner of the family was to pay for the family’s expenses.

Gaiyathiri added when she brought Ms Piang Ngaih Don for check-ups at Bishan Grace Clinic, she would do so without informing Chelvam and did not update him on the advice given by the doctor.

She said Chelvam would not notice if the maid had lost weight because of her loose-fitting clothes and the masks she wore due to her sinus issues. Gaiyathiri said she also did not notice the weight loss.

The maid weighed 39kg when she worked for the family and was a mere 24kg when she died.

DPP Koh told Gaiyathiri that Gaiyathiri’s mother Prema S. Naraynasamy, 65, and her brother Mr Kishore K. Shanmugavel had testified in court saying they saw the maid had lost weight.

The prosecutor said if they were able to notice it despite not always staying at the Bishan flat, then surely she would have been able to notice it too.

The prosecutor told Gaiyathiri the weight loss would have been obvious to anyone, including Chelvam.

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Gaiyathiri said: “Our focus is on the children, and we didn’t focus on her.”

Prema had been jailed a total of 17 years for her role in the case.

Tuesday was the second day Gaiyathiri appeared in court during Chelvam’s trial.

During her trial, footage of the emaciated domestic worker being grabbed by the hair and shaken like a rag doll was played in court.

There was also footage of Gaiyathiri pouring cold water on Ms Piang Ngaih Don and slapping, pushing, punching, kicking and stomping on her while she was on the ground.

She also hit the domestic worker with objects like a plastic bottle and metal ladle, and pressed a heated steam iron to the maid’s forearm.

Ms Piang Ngaih Don’s meals often consisted of sliced bread soaked in water, cold food straight from the refrigerator or some rice at night.

Last Friday, Gaiyathiri had said she was unhappy with Chelvam for not arranging for her to meet their children while she was in prison.

She referred to a court order dated Nov 13, 2019, which said the children, whom she has joint custody of, were supposed to meet her once every two weeks.

She said she has appointed a lawyer from the Legal Aid Bureau to look into the matter.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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