PETALING JAYA: Jakarta tonight condemned the “persistent abuse” of an Indonesian by her Malaysian employer after the victim, a domestic worker, was rescued by police on Tuesday.
The republic also urged Malaysian authorities to step up supervision and monitoring of employers of migrant workers as well as guarantee their citizens’ protection and “rigorously enforce the law against perpetrators”, The Jakarta Post reported.
Earlier this week, police rescued the victim, known only as MH following a tip-off from human rights NGO Tenaganita.
According to Indonesia’s foreign ministry, MH was tortured, including being beaten and cut. She was also scalded with hot water and not given food.
“The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is continuing to assist MH and will retain a lawyer to monitor the legal process against her employer,” the foreign ministry was reported to have said.
The abuse of MH is the latest case involving Malaysian employers of foreign domestic workers.
In February 2018, Adelina Lisao was found dead outside her employer’s home in Penang, with her head and face swollen and covered in wounds, triggering diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
Her employer, Ambika MA Shan was charged with murdering the 26-year-old domestic worker, who succumbed to multiple organ failure following the alleged abuse at their house in Bukit Mertajam.
However, last year the High Court in Penang granted Ambika a full acquittal on the murder charge after the deputy public prosecutor requested a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
In September, the Court of Appeal upheld Ambika’s acquittal, although Attorney-General Idrus Harun said they would appeal against the ruling.