In a five-minute clip leaked online, a foreign domestic helper (FDW) in Malaysia was caught on camera engaging in lewd acts with a baby under her care.
The FDW allegedly filmed herself and the baby while the baby was forced to perform sexual acts on her.
The videos were reportedly sent to her boyfriend, who shared them in a WhatsApp group, including the FDW’s former employers, on 19 April 2023.
Following this, a WhatsApp group member posted a warning on Facebook on 20 April 2023 to alert the FDW’s future employer and family under her care and prevent any future victims from being subjected to such indecent acts.
Obscene Acts Captured on Camera and Leaked in Whatsapp Group
Per the employer’s family friend, the FDW was hired by the family four years ago but was eventually dismissed due to her unsatisfactory work performance and attitude.
However, on 19 April 2023, the employer’s friend was unexpectedly added to a WhatsApp group that included the FDW’s friends and some of her former employers, believed to have been created by the helper’s boyfriend.
The group contained various lewd videos of the FDW involved in indecent acts with the baby, which left the employer’s friend shocked and uncertain about how to handle the situation for some time.
The following content may be disturbing.
Seven videos were shared in the group, all depicting the FDW performing obscene acts with the baby by forcing them to do certain sexual acts or of the FDW self-pleasuring herself with the poor baby as an innocent bystander.
The videos even showed the FDW forcing the baby to suck her nipples and touch her private parts.
While initially traumatised by the incident, the employer’s friend has since reported the case to the police with the baby’s mother, hoping they could arrest the helper and prevent future victims from further abuse.
Hopes to Warn Future Employers About Incident in Facebook Post
In addition to reporting the incident to the authorities, the employer’s friend posted on Facebook to solicit information about the FDW’s current employer and caution them about her behaviour to prevent other infants from being subjected to the same abuse.
The post contained images of the FDW’s face, and the friend requested that anyone with information on the FDW or her current employer to contact her.
After bringing the story to light, the employer’s friend received several requests online for the videos.
However, she declined and urged netizens not to distribute the videos as they were filmed without permission and involved inappropriate acts with a minor.
Abuse Against Children On The Rise
According to data released by the Parliament of Singapore in February 2023, there has been a 61% increase in reported sexual assault cases involving family members and relatives victimising children below 16.
In 2019, 153 cases were recorded, followed by 186 cases in 2020 and, finally, 247 cases in 2021.
Moreover, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) reported 2,141 child abuse cases in 2021, the highest in the last ten years and 63% more than the 1,313 cases reported in 2020. The cases involved physical and sexual abuse, as well as neglect.
Meanwhile, this is not the first instance of abuse against children by FDWs. In 2021, a Vietnamese FDW working in Singapore was caught on CCTV putting drugs into a baby’s milk.
The baby’s parents discovered this after noticing their son’s lack of weight gain months after hiring the FDW.
Upon reviewing the security camera footage in the infant’s room, they discovered that the FDW had been drugging the baby’s milk.
Why Do People Sexually Abuse Children or Minors?
Child sexual abuse refers to engaging a child in sexual activities that they are not developmentally prepared for, cannot comprehend, or have the legal or societal capacity to consent to.
This type of abuse is often committed by individuals with a pre-existing relationship with the child, such as family, friends, relatives, coaches, teachers, or babysitters.
In Singapore, the law does not recognise the ability of individuals under the age of 16 to give consent to sexual activities. As such, even if a minor agreed to such acts, it would still be deemed non-consensual under the law.
If the minor is under 14, the punishment for such actions is more severe.
Despite the disturbing nature of child sexual abuse, it is more prevalent than we may realise.
In 2017, one-fifth of the 515 cases reported to Singapore’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) involved individuals who had faced sexual abuse as children.
Several factors contribute to an individual’s desire to sexually abuse a child, including sexual gratification, the need for control, and a desire to inflict harm for pleasure.
Some perpetrators may not even have a sexual attraction to children but target them due to their vulnerability compared to adults.
These individuals may justify their actions by convincing themselves that the child “consented,” that the abuse is not harmful, or that they are entitled to such acts.
According to Ms Siti Kamisha, assistant director of the Bukit Aman Sex Crimes, Child Abuse, and Domestic Violence Investigation Team in Malaysia, police investigations are currently ongoing,
All relevant individuals involved in the case, including the woman who reported the incident and the WhatsApp group members, will be summoned to the team within a few days.
However, the police are still searching for the suspect.
Once apprehended, the FDW can be charged under Section 8 of Malaysia’s Child Sexual Offences Act 2017.
The section imposes a maximum penalty of 15 years of imprisonment and not less than three strokes of whipping for anyone who exchanges, publishes, distributes, or makes available child pornography.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, individuals who commit sexual misconduct by exposing their genitals can be prosecuted under Section 377BF of the Penal Code.
The maximum penalty for such an offence is one year of imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Individuals convicted of outrage of modesty, such as molestation, can be charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of a fine, caning, up to three years of imprisonment, or a combination of these.
If the victim is under 14, the maximum imprisonment term is increased to five years.
