Perosnality Disorder

Maid's life term set aside, psychiatric evidence to be relooked

THE Court of Appeal yesterday set aside the life term of an Indonesian maid who had killed her employer's 75-year-old mother, and sent the case back to the trial judge.
It wanted the trial judge to re-evaluate the psychiatric evidence, which the three-judge court yesterday described as 'incomplete' and 'uncertain', in the light of new reports presented at the appeal.

About this case
ONE morning in October 2005, 75-year-old Wee Keng Wah caught her maid sneaking back into her Chai Chee flat after meeting a boyfriend.

In the row that followed, the maid, Barokah (above), knocked Madam Wee (below) unconscious and pushed her to her death from a ninth-floor window.

She admitted to manslaughter last November and was sentenced to life in prison.

Psychiatrists diagnosed her with depression.

One said she might have a personality disorder that made her reliant on men.

The married woman, who has a son with her husband, had two affairs which resulted in children.
In sending Barokah to prison for life, Justice Tay Yong Kwang pointed to her cold-bloodedness in throwing an unconscious elderly woman from the ninth floor.

He said her personality disorder, coupled with a violent temperament, might land her in a similar situation to commit another crime.
This could have an impact on her life sentence.

Among the issues to be resolved: Does 29-year-old Barokah have a personality disorder that makes her dependent on men and afraid of being abandoned?
The lower-court judge had decided that the disorder made her likely to commit a violent crime again.

Barokah had pushed Madam Wee Keng Wah from their ninth-floor Chai Chee flat in 2005 after the elderly woman scolded her for sneaking out to meet a man.

She escaped the gallows as the original murder charge was reduced after she was diagnosed by psychiatrists to be moderately depressed. The prosecution psychiatrist, Dr Tommy Tan, also said that she may have a dependent personality disorder (DPD).

She pleaded guilty to manslaughter last November and was sentenced by the High Court to life in prison.

First heard in April, her appeal was adjourned for further psychiatric reports to be submitted. One issue was whether her pregnancy at the time of the murder had affected her mental state.

Yesterday, at the resumption of the appeal hearing, the court focused on whether Barokah truly had a personality disorder.

It was one reason that the trial judge, Justice Tay Yong Kwang, had put her away for life.

He felt that Barokah would need to be involved with a man again, and this would lead again to depression.

Justice Tay ruled that, with her personality disorder and violent temperament, it was likely that 'something will flare up again and that someone in future will get hurt badly, if not killed'.

Yesterday, in arguing against the life term, her lawyer, Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal, highlighted that Dr Tan had not affirmed that the maid had DPD in his supplementary report.

On the other hand, the defence psychiatrist, Dr R. Nagulendran, was unequivocal that she did not have DPD.

This sparked comments by the appeal judges that the psychiatrists appearing for both sides had differing opinions.

Justice V.K. Rajah noted that the psychiatrists were 'not on the same page' and seemed to be qualifying their reports with suppositions.

When Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Ming Kuang suggested that further reports could be submitted, Justice Andrew Phang remarked that this would lead to a 'perpetual tennis match'.

'Because of the uncertainty and tentativeness of the psychiatrists' conclusion, it's unsafe for us to rely on one or another,' said Justice Rajah.

The appeals court sent the case back to the High Court for the psychiatrists, as well as anyone else who knew about her mental health at the time, to be questioned on the stand.

No trial dates have been fixed.

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I never know this is considered a personality disorder, being "reliant on men".

However, I hope the accused will get her retribution and deserving sentence.