A woman who claims she worked as a slave for a wealthy Long Island couple delivered jarring testimony Monday, alleging the couple gave her torturous punishments for the slightest errors in her ways.This is just the tip of the iceberg in this case, and I am quite surprised that the Sabhnani's chose not to make a plea deal rather than have these allegations dragged into the papers on a daily basis. It seems to have been a rather poor tactical choice on their part.
The millionaire couple, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani and his wife Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, who are charged with modern-day slavery, listened as the first of their two housekeeper-servants stunned the courtroom with graphic descriptions of alleged abuse.
The Sabhnanis run a worldwide perfume business out of their home on Long Island's North Shore, where they are under house arrest during this sensational trial. On Monday, jurors were riveted as an alleged slave only identified as "Samirah" choked back tears as she detailed horrendous punishments for minor transgressions. Those punishments included being victimized with umbrellas, knives, and brooms.
Samirah, 51, claimed that at the hands of Mrs. Sabhnani, she was scalded, sliced, clubbed, cut, and pinched. She said her ears were pulled, fingers bent, body taped, and she said she'd even suffered a broken hand.
As for Mr. Sabhnani, Samirah testified that he and some of the couple's four children at times saw her naked, when "the Missus" ordered her to remove her clothes as humiliation.
The Indonesian servant said for small mistakes such as if she slept late or was tardy when beckoned, Mrs. Sabhnani would use "a club to hit me in the mouth til my teeth fell off," she said.
If convicted, the Sabhnani's could face 40 years in prison each.
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