Woman cleared of three maid abuse charges after nine-day trial

A 28-year-old woman was acquitted of three charges of abusing her Myanmar maid on Tuesday after a nine-day trial last year.

Ms Chan Sau Mun had pleaded not guilty to slapping her maid's face several times, punching her two times, kicking her in the back, pulling her hair and hitting her head against the wall.

In acquitting freelance marketing executive Ms Chan Sau Mun, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt said the prosecution had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. He found material inconsistencies in the domestic worker Ms Rebecca Ne Mo's evidence.

There were also discrepancies between her evidence in court and her police report. Apart from the injury to the left eye, the judge said there were no other recorded injuries to show that any of the other alleged acts of assault had taken place. He felt that it would be unsafe to rely on the 29-year-old maid's evidence.

All the alleged incidents took place at Ms Chan's Sims Drive flat on June 9, 2010.

The maid had worked for the household for about three months before she ran away while Ms Chan was in the shower. Ms Chan was her fifth employer.