In April 2014, a woman arrived at the Singapore office of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), a nonprofit dedicated to assisting abused migrant workers. She was alarmingly thin, weak, and appeared to have endured prolonged starvation.

The woman was Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, a Filipino domestic worker, and her story would soon shock the nation and expose the horrific reality of modern-day slavery hidden within a luxury apartment.

Thelma left her husband and three children in the Philippines in January 2013, seeking better opportunities in Singapore. She was employed by Lim Choon Hong, a freelance trader, and his wife, Chong Sui Foon, arriving at their condominium on Orchard Avenue. She expected fair treatment, having gone through an agency, but her ordeal began almost immediately.

According to Thelma’s harrowing testimony during the subsequent trial, despite her duties—cleaning, cooking, and caring for the couple’s three children—she was systematically starved. Her employers fed her only twice a day, primarily consisting of plain instant noodles and a slice of bread. Her body, depleted from constant work, received none of the necessary nutrients.

If she dared to mention her hunger, her female employer, Chong, would offer minuscule portions—a tiny piece of tomato, a sliver of cucumber, or a piece of meat the size of a pinky finger. Even during family vacations at luxury hotels like Raffles, Thelma was left alone in the room to eat the same meager ration of noodles and bread while the family dined lavishly in restaurants.

In court, Thelma tearfully presented photos documenting her shocking physical deterioration. Over 15 months, her weight plummeted from a healthy 49 kilograms (108 lbs) to a skeletal 29 kilograms (64 lbs). The starvation was compounded by other forms of cruel deprivation. She was forced to sleep in a cramped storage room amidst clutter.

Rest was also restricted; she was often only permitted to sleep around 11 a.m. after completing numerous chores. Basic hygiene became another tool of control. Initially allowed to shower only three times a week, this was reduced to once a week, and eventually, she was completely banned from using the toilets inside the condominium.

Her employers forced her to use the public toilet near the swimming pool area downstairs. Even this was controlled; Chong would often delay letting her leave the apartment, insisting on accompanying her, causing Thelma significant distress and discomfort. Furthermore, the couple withheld nearly all her salary, claiming they were “saving” it for her. In 15 months, she received only SGD 500.

Thelma endured this abuse for so long out of fear and isolation. Her every move was scrutinized—how she walked, cleaned, cared for the children, even how much water she drank. When she still had bathroom access, Chong would stand outside the door, monitoring her water usage to keep bills low. Unlike other foreign domestic workers (FDWs) who enjoyed rest days, Thelma was completely isolated.

Her employers confiscated her cellphone upon arrival and forbade her from speaking to anyone, ensuring her world revolved solely around serving them. Escape seemed impossible. She tried subtle pleas for help, like gesturing to her stomach when near another Indonesian helper, hoping to convey her hunger, but it went unnoticed. When she hinted at contacting her employment agency, her employers shut her down, insisting she could tell them anything she needed to say.

Her chance finally came on April 18, 2014. While cleaning outside the condo unit near the elevator, Thelma seized the opportunity. With nothing but the clothes on her back, she sprinted into the elevator, frantically pressing the close button. Reaching the lobby, she ran from the building, walking for 10 minutes despite her weakened state until she reached the Far East Shopping Centre.

Penniless, she begged a kind stranger to borrow their phone. She dialed a number she had painstakingly memorized—that of another Filipina she had briefly met in an elevator months prior, confiding her situation in Tagalog. The friend immediately came to her aid. The following day, they went to HOME.

At HOME, Thelma was finally given proper food—rice, meat, vegetables, fruits—things she hadn’t tasted in over a year. She was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where doctors discovered the severe malnutrition had caused her to stop menstruating and disrupted her sleep. She remained hospitalized for treatment from April until June 2014.

While Thelma recovered, HOME assisted her in filing a case against Lim and Chong for violating Singapore’s Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. The couple was arrested but granted bail. During the trial in December 2015, Lim Choon Hong tearfully claimed ignorance of the abuse, stating he traveled frequently for work and entrusted household management to his wife.

He attributed his wife’s actions to her diagnosed Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), particularly concerning cleanliness and an extreme fear of weight gain. He described her obsession as akin to a “religion,” revealing that even he and their children often slept in the living room to keep bedrooms pristine, used public toilets to maintain unit cleanliness, and rarely cooked at home due to Chong’s aversion to cleaning afterward.

He claimed the family also ate sparsely, often just bread, due to Chong’s fear of gaining weight, implying Thelma’s diet wasn’t intentionally cruel but a reflection of Chong’s own disorder.

The defense also presented bank records showing they had helped Thelma remit money once, attempting to refute her claim of withheld salary. Thelma countered that this only happened after her desperate situation reached the Philippine Embassy via a concerned friend, forcing the couple’s hand.

The trial was extended as the defense presented more witnesses, but on March 23, 2016, the couple abruptly pleaded guilty in exchange for potentially lighter sentences. In March 2017, Judge Low Wee Ping sentenced Lim to three weeks in jail and Chong to three months, ordering them to pay Thelma SGD 11,000 in compensation. The judge cited their remorse and Chong’s OCD as mitigating factors.

The prosecution, deeply dissatisfied with what they considered an excessively lenient sentence for deliberate, systemic abuse aimed at cost-saving, appealed. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon agreed, finding the initial sentences “manifestly inadequate.” On September 15, 2017, he overturned the ruling, imposing the maximum sentence under the law: one year in jail for both Lim and Chong. He also increased the compensation to Thelma by an additional SGD 20,000, stating they had failed to treat her as a human being.

Following the trial, Thelma remained in Singapore, finding a new employer. Photos on social media suggest a vastly improved situation, showing her enjoying days off and friendships. The Ministry of Manpower permanently banned Lim and Chong from ever hiring a domestic worker again. Thelma Gawidan’s harrowing ordeal became a landmark case, highlighting the vulnerability of migrant workers and the potential for horrific abuse behind closed doors.