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Man pleads guilty to punching, kicking maid and assaulting brother-in-law

SINGAPORE — When his mother complained to him that their foreign domestic worker was being disrespectful, Benjamin Putra Chumali saw red and confronted the helper.

The court heard that Benjamin Putra Chumali punched foreign domestic worker Fabre Jeizel Cabelte in the face so forcefully that her head shattered a glass cupboard behind her.

The court heard that Benjamin Putra Chumali punched foreign domestic worker Fabre Jeizel Cabelte in the face so forcefully that her head shattered a glass cupboard behind her.

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SINGAPORE — When his mother complained to him that their foreign domestic worker was being disrespectful, Benjamin Putra Chumali saw red and confronted the helper.

He then punched Ms Fabre Jeizel Cabelte in the face and head, and kicked her three times. The next punch he threw to her face was so forceful that her head hit the cupboard behind her, causing the glass to shatter.

On Friday (Oct 11), Chumali, a 33-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing hurt to the Filipino helper and his brother-in-law.

District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam adjourned sentencing to Nov 14, for the prosecution to look at two letters that Chumali gave to the court. The judge also told him to think about voluntarily compensating his victims for assaulting them.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Ong is seeking four months’ jail for Chumali, and described the assault as “not a minor one”.

For causing hurt, he could be jailed up to two years, or fined up to S$5,000, or both. He could also receive a higher penalty for assaulting Ms Cabelte — up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to S$7,500, or both, as the higher penalties apply to employers of foreign domestic workers, or those in their household.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that the incident happened on Nov 21 last year in the Jurong West flat that Chumali shared with his 63-year-old mother and his sister.

Ms Cabelte was employed to take care of the older woman and do other household chores. That evening, the helper was lying in the living room with her feet close to the head of Chumali’s mother.

Displeased about this, the mother complained about it to Chumali, who was playing a mobile game at the time and lost his progress in it because of that.

He became very angry and confronted Ms Cabelte in the living room. After he caused her to fall back onto the cupboard by assaulting her, his mother tried to intervene by shielding Ms Cabelte with her body and said that she would call the police.

He challenged her to do so before punching Ms Cabelte on the forehead again and trying to kick her. He failed this time because his mother stopped him and got the helper to lock herself in one of the rooms.

Shortly after, his mother called his sister and told her about the assault. His sister and her husband decided to go over to take their toddler somewhere else, away from Chumali.

When the couple got there, they saw Chumali watching television in the living room. His sister went to check on Ms Cabelte while her husband lingered at the gate holding their child.

Chumali approached the other man and accused him of being rude and not shaking his hand, before punching him twice in the face and headbutting him.

Chumali’s mother quickly intervened once more while his sister called the police, who arrested Chumali a short while later.

Ms Cabelte went to the hospital for medical treatment the next day, but his brother-in-law did not.

Related topics

court crime abuse domestic helper

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