SINGAPORE, June 12 — A 62-year-old man was sentenced to three months and 10 days in jail in Singapore yesterday for assaulting his family’s domestic helper after she told his wife about his inappropriate behaviour.

The Straits Times reported that the man, whose identity is protected to safeguard the victim, was also ordered to pay S$1,000 (RM3,300) in compensation.

He was found guilty after trial of causing hurt, using criminal force and insulting the helper’s modesty.

The incident began on September 1, 2022, when the man made sexual remarks to the helper in a mix of Malay and Bahasa Indonesia.

When she rebuffed him, citing religious reasons, he told her: “Whatever things between me and you, only both of us know. Between you and Ma’am, only both of you know.”

He then asked her to shake his hand as a promise not to tell his wife. She did so using a headscarf placed over her hand.

Despite his request, the helper confided in his wife. According to court evidence, she appeared frightened and was reassured by the wife that she had done the right thing.

A few days later, after an argument with his wife, the man went to the helper’s room in the middle of the night and assaulted her.

He banged on her door, slapped and punched her, and dragged her to the master bedroom where he beat her with a belt more than five times.

His wife tried to shield the helper, hugging her during the assault. Though she was struck a few times, she was not injured. The violence only stopped when she pointed out that the helper was bleeding.

The helper suffered injuries including an abrasion on her scalp with dried blood, facial bruises and tenderness across her torso.

The next day, an employee from the domestic helper agency noticed her crying and took her back to the agency, which reported the incident to the police.

The man denied the allegations, claiming a misunderstanding due to language differences and stating the injuries may have occurred during a scuffle.

But the prosecution countered that the victim understood both languages and that “the only plausible explanation” for the injuries was a violent assault.

“The accused does not deny furiously confronting (the victim)... His anger at (the victim) belies his guilt,” prosecutors added.

The man had a prior conviction for criminal intimidation in 2013.