Indian national jailed in Singapore for punching domestic help
Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 May, 2023 12:32 PM
Singapore, May 11 (IANS) A 37-year-old Indian national was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail on Thursday in Singapore for repeatedly punching and throwing vomitus at her domestic help's face, a media report said.
Monica Sharma pleaded guilty to one assault charge for abusing the 25 year-old victim, also an Indian national, who started working for the family in 2021, The Straits Times reported.
According to court documents, Sharma shouted at the victim, punched her face thrice, and hit her head with a toy as she was not pleased with how the latter was performing a cleaning task.
She also threw vomitus at the house help, the news report said, adding that Sharma's husband tried to stop the assault and apologised to the victim for his wife's behaviour.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren told the court that the domestic help suffered a swelling over her left eyebrow and a bruised nose.
The police showed up at Sharma's apartment after the victim clicked photos of her injuries and sent them to her agent in India, who then forwarded the pictures to some contacts in Singapore, The Straits Times reported.
The victim was taken to the Changi General Hospital by the officers for treatment of wounds, and was discharged soon after.
Thereafter, she stopped working for Sharma on April 11, 2021 and had a new employer about two months later.
Prosecutor Arvindren requested the court for at least five months' jail for Sharma, stressing that the abuse took place in the privacy of her home, making it difficult to detect.
"The accused not only targeted the victim's face, which is a vulnerable part of her body, but also used a toy to hit her. In addition, the accused threw (vomitus) at the face and head region of the victim which made the victim feel humiliated," Arvindren told the court.
Sharma's bail was set at S$10,000 on Thursday, and she will begin serving her sentence starting May 23.
She also compensated the victim for a loss of income of more than S$950.
With a population of more than 4.5 million, Indian-Americans make up 1.4% of the US population and are the largest group of South Asian-Americans. Biden, along with First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, thanked the South Asian community across America for their optimism, courage, and empathy.
Fashion Designer Prabal Gurung was one of the hosts of Diwali New York, a glitzy soiree held Saturday at The Pierre, fittingly a Taj Hotel. The party, now in its third year, highlights Diwali by bringing together high-powered South Asians with other New York luminaries — people who “the world saw as leaders and role models,” said host Anita Chatterjee, CEO of A-Game Public Relations.
Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya were ascertaining information from the authorities, Dawn news reported. Condolences poured in from politicians and colleagues on the journalist's death.
It was another former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who gave Sunak his first major government role when he first appointed him as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019, and as the Chancellor in 2020. Sunak won popularity during the early weeks of the pandemic when he unveiled an extensive support plan for those unable to work during lockdown.
Diwali will be a public school holiday in New York City starting next year, Mayor Eric Adams announced at a press conference on Thursday with state assembly woman Jenifer Rajkumar. They were joined by Department of Education chancellor David Banks. The announcement comes two days before the festival of lights, which falls on October 24.
In effect, Britain will have an incredible and unprecedented third Prime Minister in three and a half months. Truss added she had agreed with Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee - the body that conducts internal elections in the Conservative party - that the leadership election will be completed within a week.
