KUALA LUMPUR – It is 10 and a half years in jail for self-proclaimed “deity” Woo May Hoe after pleading guilty to five charges including cheating her followers of SG$7 million (RM24.4 million) and causing grievous hurt.
Among her cruel and unusual punishments meted out to her followers for “disobedience” included forcing them to eat faeces and pulling out their teeth.
She also instructed some of her 30-plus followers to move in and serve her on a full-time basis, such as cooking, cleaning and driving her around, reported Channel News Asia.
If they were found to disobey her, Woo would hit them with canes or paint brushes, stab them with scissors, and even jump off the second floor of a building.
One of the victims, a 43-year-old Singaporean woman who stayed with her in 2019 was hit by a bundle of canes, which resulted in permanent eye damage.
She claimed that Woo told her to wash her eyes with “holy water” and drink it, as well as stare into the sun. Another victim who was forced to jump off the second floor ended up with fractures of both ankles and heel pain.
Woo’s reign of terror between 2012 and 2020 included manipulating her followers into selling their properties, terminating insurance policies and taking up extensive loans, as well as selling their cars as “a form of worship”.
By mid-2020, some of her followers lodged reports against her, detailing Woo’s abuse, leading to her arrest in October of the same year.
She was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but cognisant of the illegality of her actions. – June 19, 2024