Singapore TV personality jailed

Thu, 07 Dec 2000 | Source: AFP

SINGAPORE (AFP): A high profile Singaporean news presenter, whose supporters include Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, has been jailed for two months for pouring hot water on her Indonesian maid, reports said on Wednesday.

After the lawyer for Zahara Lateef spent 20 minutes pleading for leniency and produced five testimonials supporting the former current affairs show host, the judge said a prison sentence was still required.

Lateef, who recently gave up full-time work with Channel NewsAsia, had pleaded guilty to pouring detergent on her maid's head after lecturing her on how to wash dishes, and then pouring a jug of hot water over the 19-year-old.

Among the testimonials produced in court was one from the chairman of a community group, and was endorsed by Goh, which said Lateef was not known to lose her temper and "in the worst of circumstances, she just walks away and avoids a collision," the Today newspaper said.

View JSON | Print