An associate director of a real estate firm twice slapped her maid after she took her young son to see Christmas decorations at a Plaza Singapura.
More than a dozen shoppers looked on as she unleashed her fury one of whom captured the incident on video.
According to a report from The Straits Times, the footage was played to a court before Heong Siew Thing was fined $6,000 for the attack yesterday. It showed Heong scolding the Indonesian worker after she left the restaurant with her three-year-old son at Plaza Singapura on Dec 8 last year.
Ms Jominta Tarigan, 32, was seen trying to explain the situation, but her 40-year-old employer slapped her twice on the cheek. The maid, who no longer works for the family, then walked off.
Pleading for a fine to be imposed, defence counsel Amolat Singh said that Heong had been dining at the Itacho Sushi Restaurant with her son, 18-year-old daughter and the maid when the boy started crying loudly. She told Ms Tarigan to take him out and calm him down, but not to venture too far. He continued to cry, so the maid took him to see the Christmas decorations.
The pair had not returned by the time Heong had finished her meal and she became frantic when her calls to the maid went unanswered. When Ms Tarigan and the boy finally returned, the exasperated mother lost her temper, said Mr Singh.
The Malaysian national, who is a permanent resident, pleaded guilty to slapping the maid twice.