SINGAPORE: The head of a family, Hasmah Sulong, 73, was sentenced to 17 years and 10 months in jail on July 2nd, Tuesday for abusing an intellectually disabled woman which they turned into their slave.
From mid-2016, The victim, who was 27 at the time of the abuse, was subjected to torture for over one-and-a-half years by Hasmah and her two daughters, Hasniza and Haslinda Ismail. She initially sought refuge with Hasmah’s family after running away from home but was soon turned into the family’s slave after angering one of Hasmah’s daughters.
Haslinda, one of the Hasmah’s daughters claimed, that the victim had made a sexual advance towards her husband.
Consequently, she brutally fractured one of the victim’s toes, knocked out her teeth, and splashed hot water on her.
Despite having burn injuries, blisters and incontinence, the family did not provide any medical treatment for the victim, instead applied Dettol and cream on her wounds.
Also, Haslinda accused the victim of stealing because of which Hasmah chained her up. She also directed one of her sons to attach a metal plate with a hook to a wall to restrain her.
Brutal Abuse And Suffering Revealed
The victim remained in that position for eight to 12 hours daily and was required to sweep and mop the house before being allowed to eat breakfast.
The victim was also taken to Malaysia to clean a house there, where Haslinda splashed hot oil on her. She was later moved and chained to the toilet bowl because she lost control of her bowels.
In January 2018, She began oozing dark liquid from her mouth and nose and a stench emanated from her body, with pus coming from her wounds. At last, she was finally taken to hospital via an ambulance in early 2018 in a dangerously ill state as she had pneumonia and sepsis from her wounds and was not expected to survive the next day.
After being revived in the Emergency Department following eight hours of resuscitation, she was discharged over three months after being admitted. However, she still has lasting injuries, like missing 10 teeth, permanent vision problems in her right eye, and a deformed ear.
She was examined at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have mild intellectual disability that would have affected her ability to seek help.
Further Legal Proceeding Against Family Matriarch
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong , along with fellow prosecutors Mr Han Ming Kuang and Ms Grace Chua, sought 17 to 19 years in jail for Hasmah.
Hasmah pleaded guilty to five charges related to the abuse, with several others taken into consideration.
The lawyer acknowledged the “horrors” descended on the victim by Hasmah and her family members and said he had not stated anything in his mitigation plea to slight the victim or even go into “whatever allegedly transpired to start this ruckus”.
The lawyer said, “Hasmah apologises to the victim, both for what she has done, and also what her children have done.”
He informed the judge that the sentencing would provide closure for Hasmah, her family, and the victim.
Family Members Receive Varied Jail Terms
The prosecution did not seek a compensation order, saying Hasmah has been unemployed for some time and does not appear to have the financial means to make compensation.
Justice Valerie Thean said the offences were “really horrific”, with the family forcing the victim into servitude and leaving her with permanent and serious injuries.
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“I have taken into account that the accused is 73. If not for her age, given the overall seriousness of this … I would have made more offences run consecutively, and the total sentence would be more than 20 years,” said Justice Thean. She allowed Hasmah to visit her family before being taken to jail.
Hasmah received the longest jail term among all her family members involved.
Haslinda was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail for her role in 2021, while Hasniza received three years. Their brothers, Muhammad Iskandar Ismail and Muhammad Iski Ismail, who played smaller roles in the abuse, were sentenced to eight months and approximately three months in jail, respectively.
Haslinda’s husband was sentenced to three weeks in jail in 2020 for slapping the victim’s face at his wife’s direction.
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