Singapore court dismisses couple’s appeal against their conviction for assaulting maid from India

Singapore, July 17

A court in Singapore has dismissed an appeal by a couple here against their conviction for assaulting domestic helper from India, according to a media report.

The couple, who are Singapore permanent residents, was convicted of multiple charges of causing hurt to their helper, Amandeep Kaur, aged 27 at the time of the offences in 2016, after a trial in the State Courts, The Straits Times reported.

Farha Tehseen, 40, was sentenced to one year and nine months’ jail last year, while her husband Mohammad Tasleem, 42, was given four months.

Farha was also found guilty of one count of criminal intimidation.

On Friday, High Court Justice Kannan Ramesh held that Kaur’s testimony during the trial corroborated with other evidence of her abuse, including medical reports.

He also said the couple’s explanations about the injuries “fly in the face of the medical evidence”, noting that the doctors who testified during the trial also did not accept their accounts.

The judge did not accept the couple’s arguments that, among other things, the trial judge wrongfully believed Kaur’s version of events and treated the inconsistencies in her testimony as immaterial.

Justice Ramesh noted the couple’s intention to accept their sentences if their appeal was unsuccessful. He allowed Farha to defer her sentence until November 1 – when Tasleem is likely to have already been released from prison – so that at least one of them can take care of their two sons, one of whom is autistic.

Tasleem will start his jail term on July 19.

Kaur worked for the couple between November 9 and December 31, 2016.

During the trial, she testified that Farha treated her “very badly” from the outset, beating her twice on her first day of work. PTI