KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A Malaysian woman was charged with killing her Indonesian maid, a defense lawyer said Thursday, while an Indonesian official claimed the maid had been tortured.
A magistrates court charged Cheng Pei Ee with murdering the maid, whose bruised body was found in her room in her employer's house earlier this month, lawyer Gooi Soon Seng said.
If convicted, Cheng would face the death penalty.
Cheng's husband, Goo Eng Keng, who called an ambulance after finding the body, was charged with destroying evidence, but was freed upon posting 9,000 ringgit (US$2,570) bail, Gooi said.
Local police chief Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar said the 24-year-old maid died from internal bleeding but declined to comment further.
Tatang Razak, an Indonesian Embassy official, has said the maid, whom he identified as Kunarsih, had been tortured.
Kunarsih started working in the household in Kuala Lumpur four months ago.
Indonesian and Malaysian officials have condemned the murder, saying it casts a bad light on Malaysian employers.
Malaysia relies heavily on foreign laborers - mainly Indonesians - for menial work, including construction and plantation jobs. Some 300,000 Indonesian maids work in the country.
Officials have said mistreatment of domestic helpers is not widespread. But some 1,200 Indonesian maids run away every month, often because of abuse or dissatisfaction with long working hours, a lack of freedom of movement or unpaid salaries.
Razak said he hoped other cases of maid abuse would be processed soon.
He said 15 maids were currently staying at an embassy shelter, waiting for their allegedly abusive employers to be prosecuted. One of them, whose employer has been charged with causing her grievous hurt, has stayed at the shelter for three years, while the court trial moves at snail's pace, he said. (**)
No comments:
Post a Comment