SINGAPORE: A maid who was serving a life sentence for murder had her jail term reduced to 17 years on Tuesday (Aug 26) after a successful appeal.
Zin Mar Nwe, who was 17 at the time of the killing in 2018, earlier had her murder conviction reduced to one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
In May this year, the Court of Appeal had allowed her partial defence on the grounds of grave and sudden provocation.
The maid, who is from Myanmar, stabbed her employer’s 70-year-old mother-in-law in 2018 after the elderly woman threatened to send her back to her agent. This came after the mother-in-law had scolded, hit and hurt Zin Mar Nwe.
The victim was watching television when Zin Mar Nwe stabbed her 26 times until she stopped moving.
The maid then retrieved her belongings, washed the knife and changed before fleeing. She was arrested at her employment agency.
There is a gag order on disclosing the identities of the victim, her family members and the location of the incident.
Now aged 24, Zin Mar Nwe was initially found guilty of murder in 2023 after a trial.
The trial judge found that the stabbing happened after a period on Jun 25, 2018 when the victim had “scolded, hit and hurt” Zin Mar Nwe and said she would be sent back to her agent.
In May this year, a three-judge appeal panel of Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Justices Tay Yong Kwang and See Kee Oon allowed Zin Mar Nwe’s appeal against the murder conviction.
Grave and sudden provocation is one of the exceptions under which culpable homicide does not amount to murder.
