Maid's stressful working conditions no excuse for 'violent act on helpless baby', court rules Children who are cared for by inexperienced maids could be at risk, the owner of an employment agency for domestic helpers has claimed.
'The children are the most important thing in their lives, but it's surprising how little thought people put into child care and hiring nannies,' Rent-a-Mum owner Shirley Robinson said.
'A lot of mistakes are made when people rush into [hiring home help] and squabble about the extra dollars for salary,' Ms Robinson said.
She made the remarks in connection with a recent court case where a domestic helper from Indonesia, Marwito Sunami, was found guilty of manslaughter after a nine-month-old baby died in her care in 1997.
Sunami was alone with two young children when the tragedy occurred. The baby, Chi-wing, suffered major skull fractures and severe swelling of the brain, and died four days later.
Sunami told police she saw the baby fall and hit her head 'in the sitting room of the house at about 10 am. Her body hit against a bicycle and her head hit the side of the TV set . . .' But she did not call the baby's parents, fearing she would get into trouble. Instead she ran away, and was later found by police.
Catastrophic injuries Dr Yvonne Ou, who examined Chi-wing at Prince of Wales Hospital, said she had never seen such 'catastrophic injuries' as a result of a child falling on its own.
