Sikh in NZ gets $45k for race bias

A Sikh student has been awarded $45,000 in damages by a rights tribunal in New Zealand for racial harassment and humiliation he suffered at the hands of his Indian-origin employers.

Satnam Singh told the Human Rights Tribunal he suffered racial abuse, culminating in a physical assault, while employed for two months at Scorpion Liquor in Mount Roskill, a suburban area in the city of Auckland. Singh was also paid less than minimum wage, earning between 6 to 7 dollars an hour.

Store manager Shane Singh and his mother Raj Devi, who owns the business, did not respond to the claim and took no part in proceedings.

The tribunal’s decision said Singh had taken the parttime job in January 2012 after coming to New Zealand on a student visa.

The defendants were also ordered to undergo straining in their responsibilities under the Human Rights Act, pay 3,750 dollars in legal costs, and a restraining order was made to prevent Shane Singh from continuing the abuse.