Public Prosecutor v Rosman bin Anwar: Maid Abuse Case Appeal

Rosman bin Anwar and Khairani binte Abdul Rahman, husband and wife, were convicted in the District Court on charges of voluntarily causing hurt to their domestic maid. Both appealed their convictions, and the Public Prosecutor appealed against their sentences. The High Court dismissed the appeals against conviction and allowed the prosecution's appeals, increasing the sentences for both defendants, citing the prolonged nature of the abuse and the complainant's vulnerability.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeals against conviction dismissed; prosecution's appeals against sentence allowed.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Husband and wife appeal convictions for maid abuse. The High Court dismisses the appeals and increases their sentences, citing prolonged abuse.

1.7 Decision Date

24 September 2015

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Public Prosecutor	Prosecution	Government Agency	Appeal allowed	Won	Kow Keng Siong, Amanda Chong Wei-Zhen
Rosman bin Anwar	Appellant	Individual	Appeal dismissed	Lost	Ismail Hamid
Khairani binte Abdul Rahman	Appellant	Individual	Appeal dismissed	Lost	Ismail Hamid

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
See Kee Oon	Judicial Commissioner	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Kow Keng Siong	Attorney-General's Chambers
Amanda Chong Wei-Zhen	Attorney-General's Chambers
Ismail Hamid	Ismail Hamid & Co

4. Facts

The husband slapped the complainant on multiple occasions.
The wife slapped the complainant on multiple occasions.
The wife hit the complainant's head with a plastic stool.
The complainant worked for the accused persons for approximately 20 months.
The complainant kept a diary (P3) documenting the abuse.
The complainant reported the abuse to a maid agency and the police.
The complainant sustained redness on her scalp from having her hair pulled.

5. Formal Citations

Public Prosecutor v Rosman bin Anwar, Magistrate's Appeals Nos 9069 and 9070 of 2015, [2015] SGHC 247

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2011-07-04	Complainant started work in the household of the accused persons.
2011-08-01	Husband slapped the complainant twice on her face after she called out to him about ice-cream sellers.
2011-08-01	Wife slapped the complainant four times on her face after discovering a button was missing from her tudong.
2012-12-25	Wife hit the complainant’s head twice with a plastic stool after a curtain was pulled down.
2013-03-01	Complainant obtained a mobile phone.
2013-03-24	Husband slapped the complainant four times and pulled her hair twice; wife slapped her twice.
2013-03-25	Complainant called the maid agency and left the accused persons’ household.
2013-03-25	Complainant made a police report.
2013-03-25	Complainant saw a doctor.
2015-05-14	Wife commenced serving her sentence.
2015-05-26	Accused persons filed notices of appeal against conviction.
2015-07-01	Husband's sentence commencement date.
2015-07-29	Appeals set down for hearing.
2015-09-25	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Voluntarily Causing Hurt
- Outcome: The court found the accused guilty of voluntarily causing hurt.
- Category: Substantive
Sentencing for Voluntarily Causing Hurt to a Domestic Maid
- Outcome: The court increased the sentences for both accused, considering the prolonged abuse and the complainant's vulnerability.
- Category: Procedural
- Related Cases:
  - [2001] 3 SLR(R) 851
  - [2004] 4 SLR(R) 53
  - [2007] SGDC 189
  - [2009] SGDC 389
  - [2007] 2 SLR(R) 334
  - [2008] 2 SLR(R) 684

8. Remedies Sought

Increased Sentences

9. Cause of Actions

Voluntarily Causing Hurt

10. Practice Areas

Criminal Litigation

11. Industries

Domestic Services

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Public Prosecutor v Chong Siew Chin	High Court	Yes	[2001] 3 SLR(R) 851	Singapore	Cited as a precedent for sentencing in cases of voluntarily causing hurt to domestic maids, specifically regarding the imposition of imprisonment terms.
Ong Ting Ting v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2004] 4 SLR(R) 53	Singapore	Cited as a precedent for sentencing in cases of maid abuse, involving multiple charges arising from a single incident and the imposition of imprisonment terms.
Public Prosecutor v Jaya d/o Gopal	District Court	Yes	[2007] SGDC 189	Singapore	Cited as a precedent for sentencing in cases of causing hurt to domestic maids, where the offender used a wooden spoon and belt to hit the victim.
Public Prosecutor v Angela Tay Yan Hwee and another	District Court	Yes	[2009] SGDC 389	Singapore	Cited as a case involving husband and wife offenders who pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to their domestic maid, resulting in a non-custodial sentence for one of the offenders after appeal.
Public Prosecutor v Fernando Payagala Waduge Malitha Kumar	High Court	Yes	[2007] 2 SLR(R) 334	Singapore	Cited for the principle that some allowance should be made in sentencing if the offender has already completed serving the original sentence before the sentence is enhanced on appeal.
Public Prosecutor v Kwong Kok Hing	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2008] 2 SLR(R) 684	Singapore	Cited for the principle that some discount to the final sentencing equation is justified when an offender has to undergo a further prison sentence for the same offence after already completing the initial sentence.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) s 321	Singapore
Penal Code s 323	Singapore
Penal Code s 73(2)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Domestic Maid
Voluntarily Causing Hurt
Maid Abuse
Sentencing
Diary
Corroboration
Vulnerability

15.2 Keywords

maid abuse
domestic helper
voluntarily causing hurt
criminal law
sentencing
singapore

16. Subjects

Criminal Law
Sentencing
Abuse

17. Areas of Law

Criminal Law
Domestic Violence
Abuse Law