The Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday the Philippine government is extending all possible assistance to a Filipino domestic in Kuwait who is being held by the authorities there for allegedly stabbing her employer.
The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is assisting Ulambai Singgayan from Maguindanao, and is in touch with the Kuwaiti authorities investigating her case, the department said.
“Our Embassy in Kuwait continues to look after our kababayan and is coordinating with the authorities to ensure that her rights are protected,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said.
“Singgayan 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.
Foreign Affairs said as soon as the embassy learned about the incident, it dispatched a team to the hospital where Singgayan was being treated for injuries inflicted on her by the members of her employer’s family.
Initial reports from the Philippine Embassy said Singgayan’s employer threatened to have her visa revoked and transfer her to another house where she would be killed.
She then allegedly stabbed her employer to defend herself who beat her up for still unknown reasons.
Chargé d’Affaires Charleson Hermosura said Singgayan suffered bruises in her face, chest, and arms. An x-ray conducted in the hospital also showed internal bleeding in her abdomen.
Foreign Affairs said it was not immediately clear if Singgayan had been maltreated by her employer before the stabbing incident.
He said Singgayan, who was deployed to Kuwait as a household service worker in February 2017, was facing felony charges and was now under hospital arrest.