Latest news with #NucomLoretaTalbo
Independent Singapore
5 days ago
- 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
Straits Times
6 days ago
- 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.
CNA
6 days ago
- CNA
Maid admits pinching, hitting and slapping one-year-old boy as her sleep was disrupted
SINGAPORE: A maid who was hired to care for a toddler and sleep in the same room with him abused him instead, as she was frustrated that her sleep was disrupted. Nucom Loreta Talbo, a 30-year-old Filipino, also claimed that this was how she brought up her children in her hometown. Nucom pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Jul 16) to one count of ill-treating a child over 22 occasions. The court heard that the Nucom had worked in Singapore for about five years for three other households before working for the victim's family from September 2023. Her main role was to take care of the victim, with whom she shared a room. At about 9.25pm on Jul 23, 2024, the victim's parents heard loud cries from the boy, who was sleeping in his room with Nucom. The parents watched the closed-circuit television footage in the room and saw Nucom hitting their son's head once. She forcefully pushed a pacifier into his mouth and hit his head again. Upon confrontation, Nucom denied hitting the victim, even though she was shown the CCTV footage. The boy's 36-year-old father called the police, who had Nucom removed from the household and lodged in a temporary shelter pending investigations. The boy's father then reviewed CCTV footage throughout Nucom's employment and gave the relevant clips to the police that captured her rough-handling and physical abuse of the boy. On at least 22 occasions between Mar 5, 2024 to Jul 23, 2024, Nucom could be seen abusing the boy in multiple ways, including: turning him with force to put him to sleep in a playpen, hitting his head with her fist, prodding his head with her index finger to make him lie back down, hitting his head to scare him into closing his eyes and sleeping. On one occasion, the boy was crying in his playpen when Nucom woke up and slapped him hard on his face. She then grabbed him by his head, pulled him upwards and placed him in the centre of the playpen, frustrated that her sleep had been disturbed, court documents stated. When the boy woke up about three hours later, he stood up in the playpen. Nucom then hit his head with her fist and pushed him away from her before pinching his cheek, prompting his cries. She forcefully carried him to make him lie down and slapped his face, before pushing his playpen forward and backwards and slapping his face again. On another occasion, Nucom slapped the boy's head five times, making him cry and hold onto his head. He tried to cover himself with a blanket, but Nucom pulled it away so she could hit him. Two hours after this, the boy woke up crying and Nucom slapped his head six times consecutively, increasing the sound of his cries. When he fell silent, Nucom placed a blanket over him and gave him a final hard slap on his head, angry at not having enough sleep. The boy continued to move around intermittently in his playpen. Nucom watched him before hitting his head. The boy burst out crying and held his head. On another occasion, Nucom slapped the boy, tried to pull his hair but failed, and forcibly fed him with a milk bottle. One night in July 2024, Nucom was talking on the phone when the boy woke up. Nucom placed his pacifier back in his mouth, but it fell out and she hit his head. She then pushed the pacifier forcefully into his mouth, hit him again and slapped his face while the boy cried. Nucom later admitted to committing the acts, claiming she had brought up her children this way. She said she was frustrated that the boy had cried so much, disrupting her sleep. As a result, she would show him "an angry face" and hit him. The boy did not receive medical attention as his parents were not aware of the prior abuse. The CCTV captured only about four months' worth of footage as it was faulty and did not capture footage from September 2023 to March 2024. However, the boy's infant care teacher had found injuries on his body on Dec 27, 2023. When confronted with this, Nucom denied causing the injuries. Deputy Public Prosecutor Heershan Kaur sought 30 months' jail for Nucom. She said the accused was entrusted with the care of a defenceless one-year-old child, but chose cruelty over compassion, and became a perpetrator instead of a protector. The case involved a sustained pattern of abuse, inflicted on "someone utterly helpless and voiceless", said Ms Kaur. She noted that parliament had doubled the penalty for such offences from four years to eight years' jail in 2019, expressing "the clear abhorrence" that parliament has for child abuse. The courts have also warned that violence against children will be met with the full force of the law, said Ms Kaur. She pointed to the "extreme youth and vulnerability of the victim", who was between 11 months and a year old at the time. "It suffices to say the child was mistreated and abused purely because of her selfish desire to have uninterrupted sleep," said Ms Kaur. She added that the abuse could have been going on for longer, but the CCTV footage for the earlier period could not be retrieved. The intensity of abuse also increased over time, from rough-handling and prodding to multiple slaps and hits, she said. There was also a lack of remorse, with Nucom denying her involvement when the parents confronted her with the footage, said Ms Kaur. Nucom was remanded. She asked the court for forgiveness through an interpreter and said she hoped her employer would forgive her for what she had done.
New Paper
17-05-2025
- New Paper
Maid charged after she allegedly ill-treated a baby on at least 21 occasions
A domestic helper appeared in a district court on May 16 after she allegedly ill-treated a one-year-old boy under her care on at least 21 occasions between March and July 2024. 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.
The Star
16-05-2025
- The Star
Maid in Singapore charged after she allegedly ill-treated a baby on at least 21 occasions
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A domestic helper appeared in a district court on May 16 after she allegedly ill-treated a one-year-old boy under her care on at least 21 occasions between March and July 2024. 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. - The Straits Times/ANN
