PUTRAJAYA: A housewife has been ordered to begin her 10-year jail term after losing her final appeal on a charge of trafficking an Indonesian woman and exploiting her for forced labour.
This followed a decision by a three-member Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk SM Komathy in dismissing Zaimatulhakma Abdul Hamid’s appeal against her conviction and jail sentence.
In the court’s decision delivered Friday (Oct 13), Justice Hadhariah said it was proven that Zaimatulhakma had exploited the victim, Supiyah, for forced labour.
"In other words, this is modern-day slavery,” she said.
Justice Hadhariah said the court upheld the 10-year prison term imposed by the Sessions Court on Zaimatulhakma and dismissed the prosecution’s cross-appeal to increase the sentence.
The court then issued a warrant of committal for Zaimatulhakma, 49, to start the jail term with immediate effect.
The mother of two had been on bail of RM16,000 with one surety pending the outcome of her appeal.
On June 3, 2020, the Sessions Court found Zaimatulhakma guilty of the offence and sentenced her to 10 years in jail. She was also ordered to pay RM50,000 compensation to the victim.
She was charged with committing the offence in a house in Taman Meru Mulia, Klang between March 2009 and April 27, 2019.
Her appeal to the High Court was dismissed on Oct 21, 2021, prompting her to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
In Friday's court proceedings, Justice Hadhariah said maids should be treated as human beings.
In this case, she said, the victim had good intentions of wanting to take care of the appellant’s son.
However, she was beaten and had hot water poured on her, said the judge, adding that the victim was also not allowed to return home, and during the 10 years she stayed in Malaysia, she was only paid a total of RM6,000.
In the trial, the victim testified that Zaimatulhakma employed her as a maid and she took care of her employer’s son who could not talk or walk.
She also did the housework.
Earlier, lawyer KA Ramu from the National Legal Aid Foundation submitted that there was no evidence that his client trafficked the victim as the maid was brought into the country by an agent known as Pak Nawawi.
The trafficker is Pak Nawawi and not Zaimatulhakma, he said, adding that his client should not be charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
Deputy public prosecutor Khushairy Ibrahim submitted that the meaning of trafficking under the law is wide, adding that it also includes exploiting a person by threats, use of force or other forms of coercion.
"The victim was trafficked through forced labour. The facts of the case disclosed that the appellant trafficked the victim for 10 years and she was beaten and scalded with hot water,” he added. – Bernama
