Indian national jailed in Singapore for framing maid

Singapore: A 37-year-old Indian woman has been jailed for seven weeks in Singapore for falsely implicating her maid, also from India, in a theft case to prevent her from returning home.

Desai Asti Amit, who works here as pre-school teacher, was not happy with 23-year-old Kimei Dangmei's who started work for the family last April, Deputy Public Prosecutor James Low told the court.

She refused to let homesick Kimei return home to India in August. On August 20, Desai returned home from work and saw her son and Kimei at the playground.

That was when Desai planted a gold pendant and a metal prayer cup in the maid's luggage, The Straits Times reported today.

However, Kimei ran away and sought help from a welfare organisation the next day and went?on to her employment agency.

Desai and her husband brought the Kimei's luggage to the maid agency where it was inspected with the gold pendant and the cup falling out of the bag.

Police was called and told that Kimei had stolen the pendant.

Kimei was remanded for a day at a police station before being released on police bail.

On September 7, when giving a further statement to the police, Desai admitted to framing Kimei and pleaded guilty to giving false information to the police.

Defence lawyer Louis Joseph said lodging the police report and seeing the maid being arrested had pricked Desai's conscience.

District Judge Adam Nakhoda said Desai had multiple opportunities to tell the truth but persisted with her lie until she was called by the police.

The Judge called Desai's action spiteful and jailed her for seven weeks yesterday. Kimei has since returned home to India.