Employer Cleared of Charges of Abuse on Maid who Wanted to Return to India

Until there is concrete legislation that directly addresses all issues and grievances of housemaids here in Singapore, stories of abuse and maltreatment will never leave the news in the near future.

And while the Singapore government is fully aware of where its laws are lacking in regard of this sector, a radical stand to address these issues is needed to fix the problem upfront, which has been going on for years for some.

Employer Acquitted of Abusing Indian Helper who Wanted to Go Home

Meanwhile, an employer who was charged of assaulting her domestic helper by means of twisting her arm, slapping her, and pulling her hair has been acquitted of the offences filed against her on Wednesday (February 27) after completing a 12-day trial, as shared in a report by Yahoo! News Singapore.

The accused, a 43-year old Indian woman identified as Singh Manu was acquitted of four charges of voluntarily causing hurt to her compatriot, Rajinder Singh, who came to Singapore from Punjab, India to work as a domestic helper.

Manu hired Rajinder, now 28, back in Augusst 2016 on the recommendation of a friend and Rajinder’s sister.

On announcing the court decision, District Judge Kenneth Yap shared that (Manu) and the husband came across as measured individuals who had given their domestic worker fair and generous treatment.

By contrast, Rajinder has shown a lack of intention to work in Singapore from the very start, and had resorted to exaggerating her accounts of the story and the general complaints which she filed against her employers, as well as the specific allegations she gave in relation to the charges.

As per the statement of the defence lawyer, Rajinder had not intentionally taken over the responsibility of providing for her family back home by working in Singapore. This has only become the case when her eldest sister, who worked in Singapore, had wanted Rajinder to work in the Republic so that she could return home to India and get married.