Maid charged after she allegedly ill-treated a baby on at least 21 occasions
Filipina Nucom Loreta Talbo, 29, was charged with one count of ill-treating a child. She is accused of inflicting unnecessary physical pain and suffering on the baby.
According to court documents, she was in an Ang Mo Kio flat when she allegedly carried and turned the child in a forceful manner.
She is also accused of slapping the baby, pushing his head and pinching his ear.
Court documents did not disclose details about the current condition of the baby.
Talbo is expected to plead guilty on June 6.
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Independent Singapore
17-07-2025
- Independent Singapore
Maid who pinched and slapped 1-year-old who interrupted her sleep said this is how she raised her own children
SINGAPORE: The prosecution is seeking a 30-month jail sentence for a helper from the Philippines who abused a young child in her care on over 20 occasions when he interrupted her sleep. While she has said that she hopes the boy's parents will forgive her, she also claimed that she treated her own children back home. According to a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) report, Nucom Loreta Talbo was responsible for the care of a one-year-old boy, who slept in the same room as she did. She began working for the child's family in September 2023, and between Mar 5, 2024, and Jul 23, 2024, she abused him at least 22 times. Nucom pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating a child over 22 occasions on Wednesday (Jul 16) and will be sentenced on Jul 30, with CNA adding that the helper has been given the opportunity to talk to a representative from the Philippine Embassy. While the child's parents were only alerted to the helper hurting their child in July 2024, the abuse could have started as early as December 2023, when the boy's teacher found signs of injury. The helper denied having hurt the boy when the parents confronted her, however. See also Employer "can't afford maid's medical bill" — wants to replace her On Jul 23, 2024, the boy's parents woke up in the middle of the night because they heard him crying loudly. This prompted them to check footage from the CCTV camera in the bedroom the helper shared with the boy, and they discovered that she had been hitting the boy's head several times, slapping him, pinching his cheek, and other examples of rough handling. Even with the evidence, Nucom at first denied mistreating the child, but later admitted it, adding that she had raised her children with such treatment. It is unknown if the helper was abusive toward the boy prior to Mar 5, 2024, as the CCTV had been faulty before that date. A number of commenters on the story, while horrified at the cruelty of Nucom's actions and expressing the hope that she is punished accordingly, also said that it would be better if helpers had clearer roles. They argued that maids should be expected to do housework, and if they are hired as nannies, then this should be their primary duty, particularly if they are responsible for the care of very young children, and not a mixture of both. 'You either hired helper for the housework and a nanny for the kids. Never two jobs for the helper,' wrote one. Another said it has been common for people to 'hire a maid who has to do all the chores, cook, take care of the kids, and even walk their dogs, sometimes even on her rest days.' A number of commenters said that young children should sleep with their parents, and not with helpers, especially since toddlers are still unable to express themselves in cases where they have been hurt. This would also ensure that the helper gets a break from her duties, especially if she does housework as well as childcare. 'I will never let my helper sleep with my baby. My baby still does at least one night feed, helper already has so much work in the day, it is cruel not to let her have proper sleep at night,' one woman wrote. Local Reddit users appeared to agree. 'You cannot expect infinite patience from them when the child cries through the night or disrupts their rest. Even as parents, we experience frustration when the child just keeps waking up through the night. It is wrong for them to abuse your child, yes, but do you want to take the risk that they will do it without your knowledge to your child who is unable to voice their suffering to you?' one wrote. 'The thing is, nannies are not maids and maids are not nannies, but it ends up becoming part of their job scope to do anything and everything. If ppl cannot take care of their two to three kids daily while doing all the housework… why do they expect the maid to do it?' another added. /TISG Read also: 'DO NOT HIRE A MAID IF…': Singaporean calls out unrealistic expectations of employers
New Paper
16-07-2025
- New Paper
Maid admits to abusing employer's 1-year-old son
A maid who could not control her frustrations repeatedly abused her employer's one-year-old son on more than 20 occasions between March and July 2024. Nucom Loreta Talbo, 30, later told investigators that she had hit the victim as his cries had disrupted her sleep. On July 16, the Filipina, who has children of her own back in her hometown, pleaded guilty to ill-treating the little boy. Deputy Public Prosecutor Heershan Kaur said that Talbo was a seasoned domestic helper who was employed in Singapore for the past five years. She worked at the victim's household for 11 months, since September 2023, and shared a room with the victim. On Dec 27, 2023, an infant care teacher found injuries on the victim's body. When confronted, Talbo denied causing them. Court documents did not state if she had caused such injuries. Her acts of abuse came to light on July 23, 2024 when the boy's parents heard him crying. The couple checked the footage of a CCTV camera installed in the room, and saw her ill-treating their child. Further review of earlier CCTV footage revealed additional incriminating clips. In one of the earlier acts of abuse, Talbo was seen carrying the boy by his left thigh and armpit to move him within a playpen on March 5, 2024. After that, she forcefully turned him to his right side to put him to sleep, court documents state. Shortly after 5am on July 1, 2024, she used her right fist to hit the child's head. She struck his head again at around 4pm that day as she wanted him to close his eyes and go to sleep. The court heard that the child was crying in the playpen at around 1am on July 13 that year when she slapped his face. She then pulled him upwards by his head to place him in the centre of the playpen. Later that morning, she pinched his cheek and used her right first to hit his head once. On two separate occasions on July 15, 2024, she slapped the victim's head around 12 times in total, causing him to cry. Talbo ill-treated him again three days later, through acts including slapping his face, slamming him down and hitting his right hip with her hand. On July 21, 2024, she slapped his face, pulled his hair and pushed his head down with her finger. She continued abusing him over the next two days, such as by pinching his ear and hitting his head. The boy's parents finally found out about his ordeal on July 23 that year. DPP Kaur said: "The accused was confronted, but she denied hitting the victim, despite being shown the CCTV footage. "The police were called in. The accused was removed from the household and lodged in a temporary shelter pending investigations." The child's father later reviewed the other recordings that showed Talbo ill-treating the victim between March and July 2024. The man then shared the footage with the authorities. However, as the device was faulty, he could not ascertain if she had abused the boy between September 2023 and March 2024. On July 16, DPP Kaur asked for the offender to be given two years and six months' jail, adding: "Because of his tender age, the victim, who relied entirely on the accused, his caregiver, was unable to fend for nor defend himself. This calls for a plainly deterrent sentence and retribution." Talbo will be sentenced on July 30.
Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Straits Times
Maid admits to abusing employer's 1-year-old son on more than 20 occasions in 2024
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Nucom Loreta Talbo told investigators that she had hit the victim as his cries had disrupted her sleep. SINGAPORE – A maid who could not control her frustrations repeatedly abused her employer's one-year-old son on more than 20 occasions between March and July 2024. Nucom Loreta Talbo, 30, later told investigators that she had hit the victim as his cries had disrupted her sleep. On July 16, the Filipina, who has children of her own back in her hometown, pleaded guilty to ill-treating the little boy. Deputy Public Prosecutor Heershan Kaur said that Talbo was a seasoned domestic helper who was employed in Singapore for the past five years. She worked at the victim's household for 11 months, since September 2023, and shared a room with the victim. On Dec 27, 2023, an infant care teacher found injuries on the victim's body. When confronted, Talbo denied causing them. Court documents did not state if she had caused such injuries. Her acts of abuse came to light on July 23, 2024 when the boy's parents heard him crying. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Acute psychiatry services to be expanded across all healthcare clusters: MOH Singapore Strong argument for cockpit video recording, says Iata chief in wake of Air India crash report Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict Life S'pore travel agency Beyond Expeditions criticised for planning, safety issues Business Tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter Kuok Hui Kwong appointed CEO of Shangri-La Asia Singapore Jail for drunken man who shoved stranger into Singapore River, causing him to drown Singapore 'Kpods broke our marriage, shattered our children': Woman on husband's vape addiction Singapore Asia-Pacific will need over 230k new pilots, 250k aircraft maintenance technicians by 2042: ICAO chief The couple checked the footage of a CCTV camera installed in the room, and saw her ill-treating their child. Further review of earlier CCTV footage revealed additional incriminating clips. In one of the earlier acts of abuse, Talbo was seen carrying the boy by his left thigh and armpit to move him within a playpen on March 5, 2024. After that, she forcefully turned him to his right side to put him to sleep, court documents state. Shortly after 5am on July 1, 2024, she used her right fist to hit the child's head. She struck his head again at around 4pm that day as she wanted him to close his eyes and go to sleep. The court heard that the child was crying in the playpen at around 1am on July 13 that year when she slapped his face. She then pulled him upwards by his head to place him in the centre of the playpen. Later that morning, she pinched his cheek and used her right first to hit his head once. On two separate occasions on July 15, 2024, she slapped the victim's head around 12 times in total, causing him to cry. Talbo ill-treated him again three days later, through acts including slapping his face, slamming him down and hitting his right hip with her hand. On July 21, 2024, she slapped his face, pulled his hair and pushed his head down with her finger. She continued abusing him over the next two days, such as by pinching his ear and hitting his head. The boy's parents finally found out about his ordeal on July 23 that year. DPP Kaur said: 'The accused was confronted, but she denied hitting the victim, despite being shown the CCTV footage. 'The police were called in. The accused was removed from the household and lodged in a temporary shelter pending investigations.' The child's father later reviewed the other recordings that showed Talbo ill-treating the victim between March and July 2024. The man then shared the footage with the authorities. However, as the device was faulty, he could not ascertain if she had abused the boy between September 2023 and March 2024. On July 16, DPP Kaur asked for the offender to be given two years and six months' jail, adding: 'Because of his tender age, the victim, who relied entirely on the accused, his caregiver, was unable to fend for nor defend himself. This calls for a plainly deterrent sentence and retribution.' Talbo will be sentenced on July 30.
