On 2 March 2004, 47-year-old Esther Ang Imm Suan (洪阴钻 Hóng Yīnzuàn) was murdered by her two Indonesian maids, Siti Aminah and Juminem, who also stole her jewellery and money from her house. It was alleged that Ang had been harsh in her scolding of the maids and expectations of her maids' performance and it caused them both to resort to violence and therefore committed the killing. Both Juminem and Siti were charged with murder, a crime which warrants the death penalty under Singaporean law.
During the trial, it was revealed that both the maids were suffering from different types of depression that affected their mental faculties at the time of the offence. After a 19-day trial, on 5 September 2005, both Siti and Juminem were found guilty of lesser charges of manslaughter, and Siti was sentenced to ten years in prison while Juminem was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Murder
On 2 March 2004, a 47-year-old woman was discovered dead on her bed by her ex-husband at Carissa Park Condominium in Loyang Avenue.
The victim was identified as Esther Ang Imm Suan, and she was a purchasing officer employed at an oil-rig company. She was found with bruises and injuries concentrated at her neck, abdomen and limbs. According to a forensic report, the cause of death was strangulation, and the bruises on the chest suggested that she was pinned down or that her assailant(s) sat onto her chest to strangle her, and five ribs were broken as a result.
Soon after, the police managed to arrest two suspects, who were both Indonesian maids, and one of them was working at Ang's condominium. Both the maids confessed that they indeed murdered Ang. Several of Ang's jewelry and money were found in the possession of one of the maids, and a S$25,000 cheque bearing a signature of Ang (forged by the other maid) was also recovered.
On 4 March 2004, the two Indonesian maids - 18-year-old Juminem and 15-year-old Siti Aminah - were both charged with murder; Siti's official age of 18 on her passport was found to be forged and she was actually 15. Under the Penal Code, the death penalty was mandatory for offenders convicted of murder, but in the case of Siti, who was below 18 at the time, she was not eligible for the death sentence and would instead be imprisoned indefinitely under the President's Pleasure if she was found guilty of murder.
Background
Esther Ang Imm Suan, born in 1957, was married twice with three children and both her marriages ended with a divorce. She had one daughter from her first marriage with a man surnamed Lim, while she had two sons with her second ex-husband Jack Boon. Even after her second divorce, Ang remained on good terms with Boon, who was granted care and control of their sons, both of whom lived with their father and grandmother in Pasir Ris. Ang herself lived alone at Carissa Park condominium, and at the time of her death, she worked as a purchasing officer in an oil-rig company. Boon was the person who discovered Ang's corpse after she was killed.
Born on 12 April 1985, Juminem (who goes by one name) was the youngest of seven children from her family, who all lived in Margomulo, a village in Lampung, Sumatra. Juminem's parents were padi farmers, and Juminem would often help them in their farming work during her school holidays. Juminem was said to be the brightest child of her family, and she was the only one out of seven children to complete Senior High School. To alleviate her parent's financial situation, Juminem went to Singapore to work. She was first employed as a maid in Ang's household on 2 September 2003.
Siti Aminah, who was born on 5 April 1988, was the only child of her parents. She hailed from East Timor, Java. Siti was not an academically-inclined student back in school, and her school report cards showed she was ranked close to the bottom of her class. Although she was only 15, Siti falsely declared her age and claimed to be older, which enabled her to enter Singapore to work. She was first employed as a maid in Jack Boon's household on 2 October 2003, and on a regular basis, Siti would go to Ang's condominium to do the household chores, and it was where she befriended Juminem. Both Siti and Juminem became close, and Siti viewed Juminem as an older sister. Both of them would often spoke to each other about their personal issues and feelings.