Traffic Police Officer ‘NRI Kevin Chelvam’ Sentenced 10 years for Abusing Myanmar Helper to Death in Bishan
Los Angeles/July 17, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/A.Gary Singh
On July 17, suspended Traffic Police officer Kevin Chelvam was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the fatal abuse of his domestic worker, 24-year-old Ms Piang Ngaih Don from Myanmar.
Chelvam, 46, was convicted after an April trial of abetting his then-wife, Gaiyathiri Murugayan, in causing grievous hurt by starvation. As the maid’s legal employer, Chelvam also physically assaulted her, grabbing her by the hair and lifting her off the ground.
The court found that Chelvam not only failed to prevent the prolonged abuse by Gaiyathiri and her mother, Prema Naraynasamy, but actively participated in it. District Judge Teoh Ai Lin described his involvement as “dehumanising” and highlighted his duty, as both an employer and a police officer, to protect the victim.
He was also convicted of giving false information to the police and destroying evidence by removing a CCTV recorder from their Bishan flat. The judge emphasized the importance of this footage, which captured the abuse and was critical in exposing the truth. Had it not been recovered, the full extent of Ms Piang’s suffering may never have come to light.
Ms Piang weighed just 24kg at the time of her death in July 2016, having lost 15kg in 14 months. Medical experts testified her body resembled someone with end-stage disease.
Gaiyathiri was earlier sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2021—the longest sentence for maid abuse in Singapore—while her mother received 17 years in 2023. Chelvam, suspended since 2016, was the last to be convicted.
The case has shocked the nation and highlighted the severe consequences of neglect and cruelty towards vulnerable foreign domestic workers.
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