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Woman Awarded for Mother-In-Law's Bullying

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 July 2006, 18:00 CDT

LONDON - A woman who said a bullying mother-in-law made her life a misery was been awarded compensation by a British court. Nottingham County Court on Monday ordered Dalbir Kaur Bhakar to pay 35,000 pounds ($65,000) to her daughter-in-law, Gina Satvir Singh.

Singh, 26, claimed she suffered months of abuse following her arranged marriage to Bhakar's son Hardeep Bhakar in November 2002.

Singh claimed her mother-in-law, who lived with the couple in Ilford, east London, kept her a virtual prisoner and forced her to rise at 6:30 a.m. to perform "excessive and unnecessary" household chores, including cleaning the toilet without a brush.

She claimed she was prevented from attending a Sikh temple, had visits to her family restricted and her telephone calls monitored. Singh said Bhakar forced her to cut her hair - despite religious objections - and would not let her register with a doctor after she developed a hand infection.

Singh and her husband divorced in 2003. She sued under the Protection from Harassment Act, which was introduced in 1997 to deter stalkers.

Bhakar denied the allegations. Her lawyer said she planned to appeal the court's ruling.

After the hearing, Singh's lawyer, John Rosley, said she was "a very brave young woman, who is now rebuilding her life."

"There must be many women who could bring such a case but do not," he said.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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