Maid Who Stabbed Employer 94 Times To Join Lover Guilty

Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A maid has been found guilty of stabbing her employer 94 times so she could leave them and join her lover in Hong Kong.

The maid, an Indonesia national named only as Daryati, 27, has been found guilty of murdering her employer, 59-year-old Seow Kim Choo, at her home in the city-state of Singapore in June 2016 and now awaits sentencing.

The court heard that Daryati had wanted to leave the house despite being treated well by the family she worked for because she wanted to join her lover, and hatched a plan to kill them to make that happen.

She reportedly wrote in the diary: “I must carry out this plan quickly. I have to be brave even though life is at stake. I am ready to face all risks/consequences, whatever the risk, I must be ready to accept it. I hope that this plan succeed (sic) and run smoothly. My employer’s family is my target. DEATH!”

The maid planned to take her passport, which was being kept in a safe, and steal cash from a locked drawer to get home.

She is said to have pointed a knife at the victim in her bedroom and demanded her passport back. When Seow began shouting Daryati reportedly dragged her into the bathroom and began stabbing and slashing at her neck, face and head.

The victim’s husband, Ong Thiam Soon, 57 at the time, managed to open the bathroom door with a screwdriver but was reportedly stabbed just below the neck by Daryati, who was armed with two knives.

The maid then stabbed him again before he managed to restrain her. Seow was pronounced dead with an autopsy finding she had suffered at least 94 stab wounds to her face, scalp, neck and arm.

The maid was initially on trial under Section 300(a) of Singapore’s Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death penalty, but Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Weng has now said the prosecution would proceed under Section 300(c).

This section carries the death sentence or life imprisonment, but prosecutors are not asking for the death sentence. However, the court can still decide to impose the death sentence and the case has been adjourned for the defence to prepare a mitigation plea.

A charge of attempted murder concerning the victim’s husband will be considered during sentencing.

The Institute of Mental Health found in a report that Daryati had been suffering from adjustment disorder in the weeks before the incident.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.