Rescued: The victim with police, after which a 69-year-old woman believed to be her employer was arrested.
KUALA LUMPUR: The arrest of a 69-year-old woman has unveiled a harrowing case of exploitation and abuse, as an Indonesian maid was discovered locked up on the balcony of a condominium.
Only given a pillow and a mattress, the 21-year-old victim suffered whenever it rained.
The maid’s anguish was brought to an end when a team from Bukit Aman CID Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) division raided the condominium unit in Mutiara Damansara at about 5pm on Sunday.
The division’s principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Soffian Santong said a woman, believed to be the employer, was detained during the operation.
“Initial investigations revealed that the victim was relegated to the balcony instead of being provided with a room. She was to remain there and the door to the balcony was locked from the inside,” said SAC Soffian when contacted yesterday.
The victim was only allowed inside the condominium unit between 5am and 11am, when she was instructed to clean the unit, he said.
“She had only been working there for about a week and had not been paid any salary,” he added.
SAC Soffian said the maid’s dire situation came to light when she wrote a note pleading for help and tossed it over the balcony.
The case had been classified under Section 12 of the Atipsom Act and Section 55B of the Immigration Act.
