Tired Maid Who Wanted Sleep Spikes Baby's Milk With Muscle Spasm Medicine

A domestic worker in Singapore was sentenced to jail this week after she spiked the milk of her employer's child with a muscle relaxant so the infant would sleep through the night and not disturb the maid's slumber.

The 32-year-old Indonesian maid put an Anarex tablet into a milk bottle and fed the mixture to her employer's 13-month-old daughter after she was told to feed the infant on Dec. 5 last year, The Straits Times reported.

The domestic worker cannot be named due to a gag order issued to protect the baby's identity, according to the Singaporean newspaper.

Anarex, which contains paracetamol and a drug called orphenadrine citrate, is usually prescribed for muscular conditions, fever, headaches and body aches and can cause drowsiness, a report by Today said.

The maid had been employed in the household for 14 months by that time and had no complaints prior to the incident, aside from being tired of looking after the child — an issue she never brought up to her 33-year-old employer.

The domestic worker hoped she would be able to sleep through the night and would not have to wake up and care for the baby if she fed the child the medicine-laced milk.

The infant drank most of the milk and fell asleep after 20 minutes.

The employer's niece, however, spotted something blue in the bottle and reported it to her aunt, who questioned the maid regarding the discovery.

"She asked the accused what the tablet was, but the accused lied and said she did not know because the accused felt scared," Deputy Public Prosecutor Grace Teo was quoted as saying.

The maid admitted to lacing the milk with the muscle relaxant and apologized to her employer after the latter tasted the tablet and questioned her again, Teo explained.

The mother reported the incident to police, and her daughter was taken to a hospital.

The child was found to be in a "fair general condition with stable vital signs" the next day and was discharged, according to The Straits Times.

The maid was sentenced to six months in jail Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing hurt to the victim by means of poison or stupefying substance. She could have faced up to 10 years in prison and fined over the charge.

"I understand what I did was wrong. Therefore, I seek forgiveness and hope I will (get) a lighter sentence," the maid, who appeared in court video-link and did not have a lawyer, said during the sentencing.

Teo, however, argued that the worker planned her actions and committed a "gross abuse of trust" as she had cared for the child since her birth.