Indian-origin woman convicted of abusing maid in Singapore

Singapore: An Indian-origin woman was on Wednesday convicted of three counts of assault involving her maid in Singapore.District Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong convicted 38-year-old Deepakala Chandra Secharan of three counts of assault following a trial. Her mitigation and sentencing will take place on February 6.
The offences of Secharan came to light when police officers arrived at her home following an alert by another maid, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
According to the report, the victim, Eni Agustin, started working at Secharan’s apartment on December 9, 2019, and the abuse started 16 days after that.It continued with Secharan, who, at one stage, used a wooden clothes hanger to hit the maid.
On April 25, 2020, another 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 told the victim to tell the police the injuries were sustained by the victim when she underwent a traditional body-scratching treatment,” Deputy Public Prosecutors Yang Ziliang and Chong Ee Hsiun told the court.
According to court documents, Secharan had alleged the maid’s injuries were self-inflicted.
“She alleged that the victim was upset with her for wanting to send the victim back to her home country and that the victim was trying to garner sympathy for herself,” the prosecutors said.