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SINGAPORE - A woman who had been accused of exploiting two female Bangladeshi performing artistes at a Hindi music pub she managed was acquitted of four of her charges on Wednesday (May 6) following a trial.
Khema Bhatta's charges were said to involve two 25-year-old Bangladeshi women, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect their identities.
The 33-year-old Nepalese had claimed trial to two charges under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act. She was then accused of abusing her power and exploiting the pair.
She was also accused two counts of retaining the women's passports.
These purported offences allegedly took place between June 2015 and February 2016.
On Wednesday, District Judge Mathew Joseph gave Khema a discharge amounting to an acquittal, stressing that he did not find the two Bangladeshis to be credible witnesses.
He also said that their testimonies were "riddled with inconsistencies".
Khema and her Singaporean husband, Balakrishnan Jaganathan, 56, first appeared in court in 2016.
They were also the first people in Singapore to be charged with labour trafficking under the Act. Balakrishnan's cases are also still pending. He was the director of the music pub, while she was a manager there.
Khema was represented by lawyer R. Thrumurgan from Trident Law Corporation.
In his submissions, the lawyer said that the two Bangladeshi women had taken "great pains" to cast serious allegations against his client.
The two women claimed that they had been subjected to daily strip searches and were given "limited food". The pair also claimed that they had been kept in a "jail-like situation".
Mr Thrumurgan disputed these allegations and referred to a video footage shot on Oct 6, 2015, which shows a group of performing artistes, including the pair, and Balakrishnan.
The lawyer added that in the clip, one of the women was seen reaching out to Balakrishnan, referred to as "Balan", before kissing him on his cheek.
"This is telling of the relationship between Balan and the performing artistes," Mr Thrumurgan said.
He also said that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers conducted an inspection the next day to ascertain if the pub's employees were indeed confined and not allowed to leave their employment.
"There were no complaints by any of the performing artistes," said the lawyer.
On Wednesday, Judge Joseph noted that this inspection could have given the two women a "golden opportunity" to complain if they were indeed abused.
He added that with the MOM officers before them, they could have also escaped but did not.
The judge said that he was not satisfied that the two women, who were the prosecution's witnesses, were credible. Before acquitting Khema, he said that a conviction based on the pair's "unreliable evidence" would be "wholly unsafe".
The prosecution has filed an appeal against Judge Joseph's decision.
Despite her acquittal, Khema is not off the hook yet as she has 10 other similar charges still pending. Her pre-trial conference involving them will be held on June 16.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...king-acquitted-of-four-charges-still-faces-10
Khema Bhatta's charges were said to involve two 25-year-old Bangladeshi women, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect their identities.
The 33-year-old Nepalese had claimed trial to two charges under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act. She was then accused of abusing her power and exploiting the pair.
She was also accused two counts of retaining the women's passports.
These purported offences allegedly took place between June 2015 and February 2016.
On Wednesday, District Judge Mathew Joseph gave Khema a discharge amounting to an acquittal, stressing that he did not find the two Bangladeshis to be credible witnesses.
He also said that their testimonies were "riddled with inconsistencies".
Khema and her Singaporean husband, Balakrishnan Jaganathan, 56, first appeared in court in 2016.
They were also the first people in Singapore to be charged with labour trafficking under the Act. Balakrishnan's cases are also still pending. He was the director of the music pub, while she was a manager there.
Khema was represented by lawyer R. Thrumurgan from Trident Law Corporation.
In his submissions, the lawyer said that the two Bangladeshi women had taken "great pains" to cast serious allegations against his client.
The two women claimed that they had been subjected to daily strip searches and were given "limited food". The pair also claimed that they had been kept in a "jail-like situation".
Mr Thrumurgan disputed these allegations and referred to a video footage shot on Oct 6, 2015, which shows a group of performing artistes, including the pair, and Balakrishnan.
The lawyer added that in the clip, one of the women was seen reaching out to Balakrishnan, referred to as "Balan", before kissing him on his cheek.
"This is telling of the relationship between Balan and the performing artistes," Mr Thrumurgan said.
He also said that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers conducted an inspection the next day to ascertain if the pub's employees were indeed confined and not allowed to leave their employment.
"There were no complaints by any of the performing artistes," said the lawyer.
On Wednesday, Judge Joseph noted that this inspection could have given the two women a "golden opportunity" to complain if they were indeed abused.
He added that with the MOM officers before them, they could have also escaped but did not.
The judge said that he was not satisfied that the two women, who were the prosecution's witnesses, were credible. Before acquitting Khema, he said that a conviction based on the pair's "unreliable evidence" would be "wholly unsafe".
The prosecution has filed an appeal against Judge Joseph's decision.
Despite her acquittal, Khema is not off the hook yet as she has 10 other similar charges still pending. Her pre-trial conference involving them will be held on June 16.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...king-acquitted-of-four-charges-still-faces-10
