Foreign Domestic Helper Face 8 Weeks’ Jail after Boy 2yo Swallowed Toothbrush under her care
A foreign domestic worker in Singapore was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on 9 March after the child she was looking after had swallowed a toothbrush, the helper, Chi Nar Paw Tan, aged 24, is a Myanmar national. She had been working for the same family for four years before this incident happened in the employers’ Ang Mo Kio flat. She was charged under the negligent act by failing to remove the toothbrush from the boy’s mouth when he was under her care, which led to injuries to the child.
On 27 Dec, the helper was tasked to bathe the two-year-old child and the helper then soaped the boy’s body with her right hand and held the toothbrush with her left hand, which the child tooth brushed was 15 cm. Later while unattended the loose toothbrush in the boy’s mouth somehow lodged into his throats a moment later which cause the boy cried out in pain. The helper then rushed over to handle the toothbrush and it causes the boy to vomit blood and the boy’s mother was alerted to the sound and called for an ambulance.
The boy was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the toothbrush bristles was found lodged in the middle of his esophagus and the hospital did not have the necessary equipment to remove the toothbrush while the boy later was referred to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the toothbrush was removed with a pair of strong forceps there.
The boy suffered injuries that included abrasions in his throat and esophagus. Chi Nar Paw Tan was arrested later that night, ST reported. The boy was warded and discharged several days later on Dec. 31, 2020. While during sentencing in court, Chi Nar Paw Tan claimed she was mistreated by the family that employ her but later the court heard that the helper had told police previously that she was treated well by her employers. But for causing hurt by a negligent act, she could have been jailed up to six months, fined up to S$2,500, or both.