Maid jailed after struggle over walking stick leaves 94-year-old employer with head injury

The 31-year-old lost her temper after her elderly employer repeatedly struck her bedroom door with his walking stick.

SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic worker lost her temper after her 94-year-old employer repeatedly hit her bedroom door with his walking stick, leading to a struggle that left him with a head injury.

Sulastri Wulandari, an Indonesian national, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail on Friday (Aug 14) after pleading guilty to one count of causing hurt by a rash act against a vulnerable person.

The 31-year-old was the victim's caretaker and assisted him with his daily activities. They were the only occupants of the unit and slept in separate bedrooms.

On Feb 21, 2026, Sulastri was in her room when the victim knocked on her door at about 10.40pm. He asked her to take him out for food.

She opened the door, told him that he had already eaten and slammed it shut.

The elderly man then picked up his walking stick from the living room and repeatedly hit Sulastri's bedroom door for about 10 seconds.

When Sulastri opened the door, she saw the victim with his walking stick and lost her temper.

She grabbed the walking stick, trying to wrest it away from the victim by pushing him and pulling the stick towards herself. The pair grappled for 20 seconds, during which the helper also tried to pry the victim's hands off the walking stick.

According to court documents, she knew her actions could endanger the victim, given his age.

The victim eventually lost his balance and fell backwards onto the floor, hitting the back of his head against a wall. His head started bleeding and Sulastri immediately tended to him.

The scuffle was captured on a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV).

At about 11.20pm, Sulastri informed the victim's nephew about the fall. The victim was later sent to a hospital for medical treatment.

A doctor found a 2cm laceration on the victim's scalp and bleeding between his brain and its outer covering. He was treated and warded in hospital from Feb 22 to Feb 25.

The prosecution sought a sentence of at least nine weeks' jail, arguing that the victim suffered "substantial harm" from the fall.

Referring to CCTV footage, Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia said the victim was frail because of his age and suffered from physical infirmity.

"Additionally, he was dependent on the accused for certain activities of daily living, as demonstrated by his need for the accused’s assistance to leave his residence for a meal," said Mr Chia.

"However, it is acknowledged that the victim did not suffer from mental infirmity and was able to scuffle with the accused for a period of time before succumbing to a fall."

The prosecution also cited Sulastri's abuse of trust and her culpability as aggravating factors, noting that she had been engaged to tend to the victim's needs and lived alone with him.

It acknowledged Sulastri's early plea of guilt and cooperation with the authorities as mitigating factors.

Sulastri, who was unrepresented, apologised for her actions and asked for leniency.

For causing hurt through a rash act, she could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,900), or both.

Because the victim was considered a vulnerable person under the law, the maximum penalty could have been doubled.