SEPANG: Fear gripped Nurul Safiza Fitri, 11, as she recalled the difficult life that she and her three young siblings led while being held ransom by their stepmother in Indonesia.

They were forced into manual labour in the remote Sumatran village of Lampung, she said, adding that they were given little to eat and sometimes subjected to physical abuse.

“We would be sent to the forest to gather herbs and sticks from morning till afternoon and would get as little as two spoonfuls of rice if the collection for the day was below expectations,” she said.

The nightmare for Nurul Safiza and her siblings Muhammad Nurhan, nine, and Nur Masyita Amiera, eight, ended yesterday after they were brought home by their father Nordi Adi, 57, with the assistance of the Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau.

The family touched down at the KL International Airport at about 12.15pm.

Glad to be home: Nordi embracing his children (clockwise from top left) Nurul Safiza, Muhammad Nurhan and Nur Masyita at the KLIA arrival hall.

“We were unable to bring my eldest child Siti Norzana home as she was in a different location from the other three.” Nordi said.

Efforts were being made to bring Siti Norzana, 12, home, too, he added.

“I thank Allah for Umno's support. I am tenang hati (at peace) to have reunited with the children,” Nordi told the media tearfully.

The family's ordeal began in 2005 after the children's biological mother abruptly left the family.

Nordi, a security guard from Johor Baru, married the Indonesian woman two years later and decided to move the family to his new wife's village in Lampung, about 11 hours from Jakarta via ferry and road.

However, his Indonesian wife later threatened to ban the children from meeting their father unless Nordi transferred his EPF savings of RM27,000 to her.

Nordi left Indonesia in 2010 and has not seen his children since.

Bureau chief Datuk Muhd Khairun Aseh, who greeted the family at the airport, thanked the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian government for helping to bring the children home.

Muhd Khairun said the wife's family was hostile and did not allow Nordi to meet his children unless he had money.

However, he was not financially stable and sought the bureau's help to bring his children home after being informed that they would always go hungry and were told to work, Muhd Khairun added.

• Alliance full year profit up 7% to RM538mil
• Bumi Armada's earnings up 22% to RM109.67mil, order book RM12.2b
• Dayang bags RM2bil contract from Shell
• CIMB earnings up 37.1% to RM1.386b in Q1, 2013
• MMHE Q1 earnings down 35% to RM50.59m
• KLCI closes a shade below record high
• AmIncome Flexi bond fund to attract RM200m investments
• EPF invests additional US$1.3b overseas
• MIDA: Investments up 44% on-year to RM49.3b in Q1
• Prague metro plans to launch love train for singles
• iGate sacks chief executive Murthy after sexual harassment probe
• Eversendai Q1 earnings slip 13.1% to RM23.68m on timing differences
• US asks judge to deny S&P's motion to dismiss fraud lawsuit
• Perdana Petroleum bidding for over RM1b contracts
• IOI Corp Q3 earnings up just 2.8% to RM567.8m (Update)

• 6.0 quake off Russia's far-east Kamchatka coastline: USGS
• Death toll rises to 21 in Indonesian mine collapse
• Dozens dead as tornado hits Oklahoma City (Updated)
• No new H7N9 cases in China for a week: government
• Villagers discover ancient ball game statue in Mexico
• British PM survives gay marriage vote
• Kerry to help ink $2.1 bn defense accord with Oman
• Yahoo unveils makeover of flickr site

• China crush arch rivals Indonesia
• Former Asian phenom takes slow route to success
• Plenty for Hafizh as 55 is significant in his early racing career
• Yi Ting on a mission
• Razif: Indiscipline the cause of senior players’ poor performances
• Cool V Shem believes he will be too hot for rivals to handle
• Spirited Malaysian team vow to deliver against Germans
• Japan hope to reach their first semis in tourney
• KLHC to rule the roost if other teams don’t raise their game
• Malaysia have their work cut out in the World League
• Gobi’s fate to be decided by MHC’s administrative committee
• Andre nails it with last jump
• Grace hammers home a point with two golds
• Delia one step away from main draw after easy win
• Sharon believes KPT circuit is excellent for squash’s future

• Please wait.

• Sarawak ministers, assemblymen get three-fold pay hike
• Rape accused defends marriage to 13-year-old, says it was mutual
• Kerry visits Oman for arms deal, talks on Syria, Mideast
• Malindo set to operate from Subang Skypark
• MAS flew baby home with doctor's certification, says CEO Ahmad Jauhari
• Coconut yogurt anyone?
• Cops urge motorists to avoid roads near Dataran PJ Thursday evening
• AmIncome Flexi bond fund to attract RM200m investments
• The best ways to national unity
• Dayang bags RM2bil contract from Shell