A Singapore woman has been jailed for six months for a series of assaults against her Indonesian maid _ including rubbing chili on her mouth _ news reports said Thursday.

Kang Siew Kiem, 29, pleaded guilty Wednesday in the Subordinate Court to multiple counts of abuse against her 23-year-old Indonesian domestic worker Setyo Puryanti, The Straits Times newspaper said.

Court officials did not immediately confirm the report.

Kang, a mother of three, was charged with slapping and pinching Puryanti as well as pointing a knife at her and rubbing chili on her mouth between Feb. 2000 and Oct. 2002, the paper said.

The court convicted Kang Wednesday and sentenced her to six months in jail and a fine of $1,500 (US$862), the report said.

Singapore's courts frequently hear maid abuse cases. This wealthy city-state of 4 million people has about 140,000 foreign domestic workers. About 80,000 come from the Philippines and 50,000 from Indonesia, while the rest are from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

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