A man in Singapore who has been accused of hitting his Filipino maid after accusing her of stealing food at night has been sentenced to 14 weeks in jail.
Security guard Janardana Jayasankarr, 52, along with his wife Vidya Jayasankarr, 32, took turns to physically assault Miezel Cagas Limbaga, 31, grabbing her by the shirt and dragging her into the bedroom where she was punched, slapped, and stamped on her back as she lay on the floor in pain on January 20 last year, according to The.
He was sentenced February 19 to 14 weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty to three counts of causing hurt. He admitted to another count of the same, which was taken into consideration during sentencing.
Limbaga was employed by the couple, who have two children aged five and four, in October 2014. Her duties included housework, cooking and tending the children. She was paid $400 but was not granted any days off.
The first reported incident took place in late November 2014 when Janardana slapped her face.
The attack was repeated at 4am in January 22 last year, a few days after the couple assaulted the maid. As the maid sent the children to school, another Filipino maid saw the bruises on her face, arms and chest area. Limbaga admitted to being subjected to physical abuse.
That same day, at about 9am, Janardana again punched her on the chest and kicked on her stomach.
When policemen went to the Jayasankarr household at Block 556, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, later that day, after the other Filipino maid made a police report, Ms Limbaga confirmed that she had been assaulted.
A medical report disclosed bruises on her scalp, cheeks, upper chest, back and left hip.
Rajan Nair, the defense lawyer argued that Limbaga was an incompetent helper.
“She neglected her duties, had poor hygiene and could not get used to the family lifestyle,” he said, adding that Limbaga punished the children by beating them on a few occasions, and threatened to punish them further if they report to their parents.
Janardana will start serving his sentence on April 1 while his wife was last month sentenced to a week in prison.