Indonesian Maid Dies After Brutal Beating in Malaysia
Oct 26th, 2009 | By admin | Category: Domestic workers, Informal Economy, Migration and Labour
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An Indonesian maid who was found beaten in the home of her Malaysian employers died on Monday, after being hospitalized nearly a week, officials said.
Her employers, a Malaysian couple from Klang Selangor, about 50 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, were arrested and face murder charges, according to an Indonesian Embassy official.
The victim, Muntik Binti Bani, 39, a migrant worker from Jember, East Java, died at Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang Selangor, said Widyarka Ryananta, the embassy’s information, social and cultural affairs counsellor.
“Her backbone was broken, so was her right wrist, and there were bruises on her face,” Widyarka said. “It is clear that she had been beaten.”
Muntik was found in a bathroom when police raided the family’s home on Oct. 20 on a tip-off from a local resident. When she was rescued, she couldn’t move her legs, and Widyarka said that when the Indonesian ambassador, Da’i Bachtiar, visited her on Friday, her condition had worsened and she couldn’t communicate.
Wahyu Susilo, a public policy analyst at Migrant Care, said it had urged the government to push Malaysia to provide the best possible medical care for Muntik.
“I don’t understand why our embassy in Malaysia moved so slowly,” Wahyu said. “They should have moved faster and asked the Malaysian government to give special treatment to Muntik.”
Her death was the latest case of migrant worker abuse in Malaysia, which this year prompted Indonesia to ban new domestic helpers from moving there until a new labor agreement was negotiated. The two governments still haven’t reached a deal after months of talks.
Muntik was a mother of three, and according to her husband, Suparno, who spoke to the embassy on Monday, she first arrived in Malaysia in November 2004.
Widyarka said the embassy was coordinating with the Malaysian government, and that both employers, Murugan, 35, and Vanitha, 29, would be charged with murder, which could see them executed if found guilty.
Source:
http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-maid-dies-after-brutal-beating-in-malaysia/337677
October 26, 2009
How terrible it must be for her family. I really saddened by the incident. Why are so many Malaysians ill treating their maid. If they do not overwork them, they abuse them. What could have trigered this barbaric act. They two must be dealt with severely.
My heart really goes out to her. I have many Indonesian friends in Malaysia. They are relatively nice people. They are naive and does not comprehend development well. Maybe it’s because most of them are from the rural area. But then again , this is not an excuse to overwork or to abuse them.
So Indonesia, take care of your children.