The High Court conducted the first hearing of the Wamrong battery and trespassing appeal case today. The appellant, Tshering Yangki submitted her opening statement. Tshering Yangki appealed to the High Court last month after the Trashigang District Court upheld the Wamrong Dungkhag Court’s judgement. Both the lower courts found her guilty of battery and trespassing during the incident that happened on 26th April last year.
Tshering Yangki submitted six points in her opening statement on why she was not satisfied with the earlier judgments. She stated the entire judgment was based on a short video clip in which the earlier courts concluded that she battered the cleaner’s wife. However, she said that the video did not show her battering the cleaner’s wife. Moreover, she claimed the video was recorded by them omitting their part of the argument.
She also denied causing serious injury to the cleaner’s wife thereby stating her dissatisfaction with compensating her. Tshering Yangki stated that the medical examinations were carried out only more than a month after the incident and therefore anything could have happened in between.
She also presented her dissatisfaction with the courts’ dismissal of the assault charges against the cleaner’s wife and son. And also questioned the legality of sharing the video clip and defaming her even after the case was already in court. Although she requested the courts to look into this matter as well, she said the courts did not.
According to her appeal, the Dungkhag Court’s Drangpon allegedly forced her to pay the compensation on the day of the judgment although it was late. She said she informed the court about her rights to appeal within the next ten days and the closure of the banks in the evening.
In her last point, she accused Namgay Zam, a freelance journalist and also the Executive Director of the Journalists’ Association of Bhutan, of her alleged biased posts on social media defaming her. She also questioned the legitimacy of Namgay Zam and the cleaner’s daughter raising funds of around Nu 350,000 online.
The Dungkhag and District courts sentenced Tshering Yangki to a concurrent prison term of 18 months and she was also ordered to pay more than Nu 260,000 as compensation to the victim.
Pema Seldon Tshering/Kinley Dem
