Maid, abused for eight years, rescued after consular complaint

A 60-year-old Indonesian woman who was allegedly hired illegally by a middle-aged couple in a town in Johor, Malaysia, in 2009, was rescued by police last Thursday after suffering abuse at their hands for eight years.

Following a complaint made by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysian police raided a terraced house in Skudai, in Johor Bahru District, and rescued the maid, China Press reports.

A 50-year-old man, who was the maid’s male employer, and a bus driver and businessman by profession, was also arrested at the scene.

The 48-year-old female employer, a general practitioner at a clinic in Pasir Gudang, was arrested two days later, on Saturday, December 16.

The Indonesian maid, who came from Java, has diabetes and her left leg showed an infection with complications. She was sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital and was said to be in a stable condition. Police have offered her 24-hour protection.

China Press learned that the abuse case was exposed by a tip-off by the couple’s neighbor to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia.

The maid had not been issued with a work permit and the couple had confiscated her passport.

Throughout the years of her employment she suffered physical and verbal abuse, mainly inflicted by the female employer. She also did not receive the 500 ringgits a month she had been promised and often went without meals even while having to carry out duties that included taking care of pets and all domestic chores.

Haris Nugroho, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, made a report at the police station in Skudai and the rescue was made the same day.

Malaysian officers are now handling an investigation under Rule 39(b) of the country’s Immigration Regulations 1963 and Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007.