Singapore court jails Lankan for killing her Indian lover

Singapore: A Singapore court has sentenced a former Sri Lankan domestic help to 10 years in jail for killing her Indian lover. Tharmalingam Puwaneswary, a Sri Lankan national, was found guilty of striking the head of Murugaiyan Selvam, an Indian-origin man, with a five-kg dumb-bell following an argument in the victim`s house in December 2009, the Today newspaper reported Tuesday.

According the report, Selvam, a permanent resident of Singapore, would frequently pick up Puwaneswary, who was then working as a domestic help, from her employer`s house for sexual encounters in a hotel or in his bedroom in his company`s premises. On that fateful night, an argument broke out between the two at Selvam`s place after which he slapped Puwaneswary twice. After Selvam fell asleep, Puwaneswary saw the dumb-bell outside the room and used it to strike his head twice and then hit his groin area with a sharp object. Defence lawyers said the act was not premeditated and that Selvan had used the Sri Lankan woman for money. Puwaneswary had reportedly given Singapore $6,000 of her own money to Selvam, but the report did not give any details. IANS