DFA to help Filipina under hospital arrest in Kuwait for felony
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will extend all possible assistance to a Filipina domestic helper in Kuwait being held by authorities there for allegedly stabbing her employer.
In a statement, the DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait was assisting Ulambai Singgayan, the distressed household service worker from Maguindanao, and was in touch with Kuwaiti authorities investigating her case.
“Our Embassy in Kuwait continues to look after our kababayan Ulambai Singgayan and is coordinating with authorities to ensure that her rights are protected,” said Sarah Lou Arriola, Foreign Affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs.
“Ulambai and her family here in the Philippines have our assurance that the DFA will provide her with legal and other assistance that she may require,” she said.
Chargé d’Affaires Charleson Hermosura said Singgayan was facing felony charges and currently under hospital arrest.
“The employer is alive,” said Elmer Cato, Foreign Affairs assistant secretary for public diplomacy.
Arriola said that as soon as the Embassy learned about the incident, it sent a team to the hospital where Singgayan was being treated for injuries inflicted on her by members of her employer’s family.
Initial investigation showed that Singgayan was beaten up after she allegedly stabbed her employer, who she claimed threatened to have her visa revoked and move her to another house where she would be killed.
Hermosura said Singgayan had visible bruises on her face, chest, and arms. An x-ray in the hospital also showed internal bleeding in her abdomen.
Hermosura said that it was not immediately clear if Singgayan was maltreated by her employer prior to the stabbing incident. He said Singgayan was deployed to Kuwait as a household service worker in February 2017. BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO
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