According to local media reports, an Indian-origin couple was jailed by a Singapore court for repeat offences relating to the hiring of a maid despite being blacklisted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and obstructing justice.
Syed Mohamed Peeran Syed Ameer Hamza, who circumvented the MOM blacklist by using someone else’s identity to hire an Indonesian domestic worker, was jailed for 36 weeks.
The 41-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty midway through a trial to one charge each of obstructing justice and instigating his associate to give false information to secure a work pass.
His spouse Sabah Parveen, a 37-year-old permanent resident from India, was jailed for three days after similarly pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
The couple’s Indonesian maid, Aminah, had reported that she was mistreated by the couple.
Another charge of failing to pay all of Aminah’s salary was taken into consideration for sentencing, according to a report in TODAY.
District Judge Jennifer Marie granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for a charge that the couple each faced, failing to ensure Aminah was given adequate rest every day.
This means that they can be prosecuted for these offences in the future, for example, if new evidence emerges.
The couple cried in the dock as their sentences were read out. Sabah began serving her sentence immediately, while Syed will do so on January 7 in order to take care of their two young children and settle some work matters, said the TODAY report.
