Suspended police officer Kevin Chelvam was found guilty on four counts related to one of the worst cases of maid abuse in Singapore, which resulted in the death of a domestic worker.
The 46-year-old was the final of three individuals convicted on Thursday, April 10, of mistreating Piang Ngaih Don, a Myanmar maid who died in 2016 at the weight of just 24 kg.
She weighed 39 kg when she began working for the family on May 28, 2015. It had been at least 35 days since she had been fed enough.
Following a trial, Chelvam was found guilty on one count of encouraging his ex-wife Gaiyathiri Murugayan to intentionally inflict severe harm on Piang Ngaih Don by starving him.
Piang Ngaih Don suffered significant blunt trauma
Her registered employer, Chelvam, was also found guilty on one count of intentionally hurting her by voluntarily pulling her hair and raising her body off the ground.
In 2020, Chelvam and Gaiyathiri were divorced. Since August 2016, he has been suspended from the Singapore Police Force. Gaiyathiri, who was 41 at the time, had already received the highest prison sentence in this case—30 years—for the mistreatment of a maid.
In 2023, her mother, 64-year-old Prema S. Naraynasamy, received a 17-year prison sentence for her involvement in the case.
According to court records, Piang Ngaih Don suffered significant blunt trauma to her neck and died on July 26, 2016, from brain damage following 14 months of relentless torture. It was her first time working outside of Myanmar, and she was 24 years old.
The maid's limbs appeared to be nothing more than skin surrounding bone, according to medical testimony given during Chelvam's trial.
They also noted that her body mass index was comparable to that of a person with widespread and advanced tuberculosis or advanced malignancy.
Multiple acts of abuse
District Judge Teoh Ai Lin also found Chelvam guilty of one count of providing false information to a police officer investigating the matter and one count of destroying a CCTV recorder in his Bishan apartment, which resulted in the disappearance of evidence related to the case.
Chelvam lied to an investigating police officer that the CCTV cameras had been taken down months prior while he was being questioned.
Deputy public prosecutors Stephanie Koh, Sean Teh and Cheronne Lim stated in their submissions that there were CCTV cameras installed at multiple parts of the flat.
Piang Ngaih Don and the couple's two children, who were then one and four years old, were watched over by the gadgets.
Investigators retrieved 35 days' worth of footage, recorded between June 21 and July 26, 2016, which showed multiple acts of abuse inflicted on the victim. She was choked, forcefully shaken, punched, kicked, stomped on, and burned with a hot iron while working for the family.
Gaiyathiri tied one of the maid's hands with string to a window grille at night for 11 nights in a row starting on July 15, 2016, while the younger lady slept on the bedroom floor.
On June 24, 2016, Chelvam was shown on CCTV pulling the maid by her hair and raising her body off the ground.
Declared dead by the paramedics
According to the court, Gaiyathiri starved Piang Ngaih Don because Chelvam neglected to make sure she had enough food.
Prosecutors claimed that Chelvam pretended to be ignorant and placed the responsibility on his ex-wife during the trial.
The DPPs said, as quoted by The Star, "By his inaction, (he) abetted Gaiyathiri's continued starvation of the deceased," adding, "(The maid) had irregular mealtimes, often had only two meals a day, and that an entire meal sometimes comprised of nothing more than sliced bread soaked in water and callously left for her by the kitchen sink."
Gaiyathiri and Prema continuously abused Piang Ngaih Don from approximately 11.40 pm on July 25, 2016, until approximately 5 am the following day, just hours before she was discovered dead. The victim was left unconscious and unresponsive on the bedroom floor as a result of their mistreatment.
When Piang Ngaih Don did not move between 9.30 and 9.45 am, Gaiyathiri called a doctor. After the doctor arrived at the house, he discovered the maid dead and advised the women to call the police.
At approximately 11.20 am, Gaiyathiri called her husband, who came home. The paramedics declared Piang Ngaih Don dead at 11.30 am. The cops showed up a minute later, according to court filings.
The DPP said, "Inside the master bedroom, Prema told (Chelvam) to dismantle the CCTV recorder, including the hard disk drive, from the power source. He did so and handed the CCTV recorder to Prema."
Chelvam misled the officer
When Prema's daughter-in-law came to watch the kids in the afternoon, the police were still in the apartment. Then, without the woman's knowledge, Prema secretly placed the CCTV recorder into her purse and told the younger woman in Tamil, "I have kept something in your bag, do something with it."
The daughter-in-law took her handbag and exited the apartment.
A policeman asked Chelvam if the CCTV cameras in the apartment were operational after noticing them at 3:30 pm. According to the DPPs, Chelvam misled the officer by saying that he had taken down the CCTV camera at his tenant's request six months prior. However, the four-year-old daughter of the couple told authorities that she had seen CCTV footage on Gaiyathiri's phone the previous day.
The DPP said that Chelvam acknowledged that he had taken the recorder apart and given it to Prema. It was found by police later that night.
Attorneys Pratap Kishan and Jasmine Yan are representing Chelvam, who was taken into custody on August 1, 2016. He will be sentenced at a later date.
