Shocking case of abused Indon maid
BY PARVEEN GILLKUALA LUMPUR: A severely bruised and scalded maid, described by officials as the worst abuse case they have seen, has been given shelter at the Indonesian embassy here.
Nirmala Bonet just before she started work in September. The plight of 19-year-old Nirmala Bonet came to light after a condominium guard saw her sitting and crying on a staircase, with ugly bruises all over her swollen face and bleeding from the head and mouth on Monday afternoon.
He called police, who were shocked to find that her whole body, including her breasts and back, was severely burnt and scalded.
19-year-old Nirmala Bonet showing the injures sustained over the last five months while working as a maid for a couple in Jalan Tun Razak. Nirmala, from Kupang in Nusa Tenggara Timur, came here in September last year with the hope that her parents, both farmers, would be happy and proud of her when they saw how much money she earned for them.
“When I go back, what am I going to tell my parents when they see all the scars?” she asked.
Nirmala claimed that for the last five months her employer’s wife had abused her daily, burning her with a hot iron, pouring boiling water on her and using other objects to hit her.
She said she had many opportunities to escape but did not know where or whom to seek help from.
Nirmala said the first time she was abused was when she accidentally broke a mug while washing it.
“She (employer’s wife) then threw boiling water on me.
“She took the iron out of my hand and pressed it against my breasts,” said Nirmala.
She said she would only be given medication if she asked for it and she was expected to wake up at 6am every day despite her injuries and condition.
Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Hadi Ho Abdullah said Nirmala was treated for her injures at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
“A team of policemen from the district police headquarters detained the managing director's wife at about 11.30am on Tuesday.
The Indonesian embassy’s head of information division, Budhi Rahardjo, and Foreign Workers Agencies Association vice-president Jeffrey Foo both said this was the worst case of maid abuse they had ever seen.
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