May 29, 2024
SINGAPORE – Suspended policeman Kevin Chelvam saw his former wife and mother-in-law abuse his maid on multiple occasions, but he did not report their cruel behaviour to anyone outside the family, the court heard on May 28.
Under cross-examination on the 14th day of his trial, Chelvam, who faces five charges, admitted to witnessing the abuse of Myanmar national Piang Ngaih Don, 24, in person and from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in his Bishan flat since 2015.
When the police asked why he did not stop his then wife, Gaiyathiri Murugayan, 44, from hitting the helper when he saw it happening on CCTV, Chelvam said in a statement during investigations that he was “afraid of his wife” as “she would kick up a big fuss” if he questioned her.
Citing this statement, Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh asked the 45-year-old Chelvam on May 28 if he had neglected to protect Ms Piang Ngaih Don to avoid quarrelling with his wife. He disagreed, saying he had spoken to Gaiyathiri about stopping the abuse.
Ms Piang Ngaih Don, who had worked for the family for 14 months, died of brain injury with severe blunt trauma to her neck on July 26, 2016, after months of repeated abuse. She was burned with a heated iron, choked, shaken violently, punched, kicked and stomped on, among other things.
Gaiyathiri was sentenced to 30 years’ jail and Chelvam’s then mother-in-law, Prema S. Naraynasamy, 65, received a 17-year jail term for their roles in the case, which is one of Singapore’s worst cases of maid abuse.
Chelvam, who was suspended from service on Aug 8, 2016, is being tried over four charges, including one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by grabbing her hair and another of abetment of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Ms Piang Ngaih Don by starvation.
The other two charges are of giving false information to a police officer and removing CCTV cameras – which recorded the abuse – from his home.
The prosecution raised three incidents in court on May 28 to show Chelvam’s alleged indifference to Ms Piang Ngaih Don’s abuse.
First, when he noticed a burn injury on the helper’s hand in the shape of an iron, he asked his then wife about it as he suspected it was her doing. Gaiyathiri said the maid had accidentally burnt herself, which Chelvam accepted without probing further.
Second, when Gaiyathiri told him that she tied the helper to a window grille at night to stop her from stealing food in the kitchen, Chelvam told her to stop doing that but did not check if she actually did.
It was revealed in earlier court hearings that in the last 12 days of Ms Piang Ngaih Don’s life, she was tied to the window grille at night while she slept on the floor.
Third, CCTV footage played in court showed Chelvam kicking the maid as he washed the dishes on June 24, 2016. When Prema assaulted the helper next to him, he did not stop her.
DPP Koh put it to Chelvam that as a police officer, he knew that the abuse against Ms Piang Ngaih Don was criminal in nature, and he failed to report it as he wanted to protect Gaiyathiri and Prema. He disagreed.
On the day of the maid’s death, Gaiyathiri told Chelvam before he left for work that the maid was unresponsive.
The prosecution noted this was out of the ordinary, as the maid was usually awake before Chelvam went to work. Yet, Chelvam admitted in court that he only checked to see if the maid was still breathing, without looking out for any injuries.
A few hours later, Gaiyathiri called to tell him that Ms Piang Ngaih Don was dead.
CCTV footage showed that when Chelvam returned home after hearing the news, he barely stopped to look at the helper lying on the sofa before going into the bedroom, where the CCTV recorder was located.
Shortly after he entered the bedroom, four out of five cameras in his home stopped recording.
The only camera left running was the one in the kitchen. Prema and Chelvam were then seen looking into the camera one after the other. The police arrived soon after.
The prosecution asked if Chelvam was checking to see if the camera was still recording, to which he replied that he could not remember.
The trial continues on May 29.