Singapore: Indian-origin woman jailed for abusing domestic help

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A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman in Singapore, who applied foundation to her domestic help's face to cover up bruises from the police, was on Monday sentenced to 10 months and ten weeks jail for maid abuse, a media report said.

Deepakala Chandra Secharan was convicted of three counts of assault involving her maid in January following a trial.

Secharan was sentenced to 10 months and ten weeks in jail and was also ordered to give the victim, Eni Agustin, compensation of SGD 4,000, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

Before handing down the sentence on Monday, District Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong stressed that a clear signal should be sent out that maid abuse cases will be dealt with firmly.

Agustin, whose nationality and age was not stated in the court documents, started working at Secharan's apartment on December 9, 2019. The abuse started 16 days later when she mixed up some cutlery while placing the items in a kitchen drawer. Secharan repeatedly poked Agustin's forehead, scratching it, Deputy Public Prosecutors Yang Ziliang and Chong Ee Hsiun said in their submissions.

On April 23, 2020, Secharan hit the domestic help with a wooden clothes hanger until it broke and flew into a rage the next day when the maid could not find the masking tape.

Apart from slapping the domestic help, Secharan also hit her with a stick on multiple occasions. The offences came to light when police officers arrived at the convict's home following an alert by another maid, the report said.

Also read: Indian national charged for molesting woman in Singapore

On April 25, 2020, a maid in a lower unit called the Centre for Domestic Employees after she saw Agustin's bruises when the latter was hanging laundry from a kitchen window. The police were alerted, and officers arrived at Secharan's flat later that day.

The convict applied a thick layer of foundation on the victim's face to hide the bruises and instructed her to lie to the police about the origin of the injuries.
"The accused (now convict) then brought an ice pack for the victim and instructed the victim to lie to the police about the origin of the injuries," the report quoted the prosecutors as saying.

According to the report, for each count of maid abuse, an offender can be jailed for up to four years and fined up to SGD 10,000.

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