Married man convicted of molesting maid at home
A married man was convicted yesterday after a 10-day trial for molesting his maid twice in a flat while the rest of the family were on holiday in China.
In 2016, Stanley Cheng Kim Han, then 41, had touched his Myanmar domestic worker, then 23, in the bedroom and toilet of his flat.
Cheng, 44, was employed as a watch manager as part of air traffic control at Changi Airport.
He had been working for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore for 22 years, and was married with two young children.
His in-laws were also living with them at the time.
In November 2016, the victim and Cheng were in one of the bedrooms.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage shows the victim walking into the room, followed by Cheng.
During the trial, the maid testified they were standing quite close to each other.
After giving her instructions, Cheng placed his head on her right shoulder, and she turned her body away.
She did not think much about it as Cheng had a habit of brushing or touching her when he walked past her.
The next day, the victim was washing the tiles above the bathtub in the master bedroom toilet when Cheng entered to put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket.
After he washed his hands, he hugged her from behind and touched her chest.
She testified saying she felt scared after the second incident. She made a sound and quickly diverted his attention by pointing to the tennis courts.
Cheng later left the flat, and she called the maid trainer from her maid agency to tell her about the incident.
The maid trainer testified that the victim sounded frightened and told her she had been touched.
When Cheng returned home from work, the victim was crying and told him she wanted him to call her agency.
CLAIMED TRIAL
Cheng claimed trial and denied the allegations, arguing that the victim had colluded with another maid who lived in his block to frame him as she wanted to change employers.
He claimed the first molest incident did not take place as the victim was unaffected.
He was the only person who had complete knowledge of the CCTV cameras installed in his home, and had decided how many cameras to install, or where they should be placed.
There were no camera in the bathroom and the bedroom where the offences took place.
Cheng also had not paid the victim's salary although she had worked in his home for two months.
He also did not offer her the opportunity to call home, even though he had the responsibility to do so.
He will be sentenced on Sept 12.
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