Domestic helper claims police threatened her into pleading guilty for murder
4 July 2012 6:41 PM | Updated 6:48 PM
A domestic helper, who allegedly killed her lover with a 5.6kg dumbbell, is claiming that she pleaded guilty because she was threatened by police officers.
Tharmalingam Puwaneswary, a 33-year-old domestic helper from Sri Lanka, is now on trial for culpable homicide.
Shin Min Daily News reported that on 3 July, she claimed in court that she was threatened at the police station by two officers who were taking her statement. She said the officers slapped her and told her to plead guilty to the crime, otherwise they would tell the Sri Lankan government that she is a member of the rebel force and implicate her family there.
She added that she was forced to comply out of fear for her two children’s safety. She noted that her statement was seemingly recorded by an officer with the surname “Ong”, but she has never seen the officer before. Based on these claims, her lawyer has requested that the statements involved not be used as evidence in court.
The prosecutor refuted these claims saying that Puwaneswary is dishonest and that the police have not threatened her. The prosecutor also said that the claims have no credibility and are inconsistent with earlier statements. According to the prosecutor, she had told a psychiatrist that she had made the statements voluntarily.
Puwaneswary is suspected of killing her lover, Murugaiyan Selvam, 32, a project supervisor from India, between 10.30pm on 3 December 2009 and 9.17am the next day. The incident allegedly took place on the fourth floor of an industrial building at Kaki Bukit Crescent.
She apparently hit his head with the dumbbell and is said to have stabbed his genitals with a sharp object as well.
