Death of Indonesian maid will further strain ties with Malaysia

KLANG, Oct 26 — An Indonesian maid, rescued from a house in Taman Sentosa last week, died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital here this morning.

Doctors said Mautik Hani, 36, from Surabaya, who had been in a coma since Saturday, died at 10am.

She was rescued by police on Tuesday and was found with a wound on her leg as well as bruises on her arms and face.

A 30-year-old trader and his wife are currently under remand to help investigations into claims of abuse. Police are expected to reclassify the case.

Her death is expected to further sour relations between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Cases of Indonesian maid abuse have been a major cause of strained relations in recent years and news of Mautik’s death has already been picked up by Indonesian newspapers.

The online edition of Jakarta Globe has the headline “Indonesian Maid in Malaysia Dies After Being Rescued From Alleged Abuse”.

Malaysian Insider By Neville Spykerman 

Police: Abused Indonesian maid is dead

An Indonesian maid who was allegedly severely beaten by her Malaysian employers, and then bound and locked up in a toilet for two days, has died in hospital, the police said today.

 

A market vendor and his wife have been arrested over the abuse of 36-year-old Mautik Hani from Surabaya, in the latest in a series of cases that have prompted Indonesia to temporarily ban sending domestic workers to Malaysia.

The neighbours are negotiating a deal on salaries and conditions aimed at preventing mistreatment of maids, who currently have no legal safeguards on their working conditions.

“I can confirm that Mautik Hani has died in hospital,” district police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop told AFP.

“We have to wait for the hospital’s report on her cause of death before deciding on the next course of action regarding her employers. They are still being detained,” he added.

Hani was rescued from her employers’ home a week ago. She was found by another Indonesian cleaner hired to replace her who noticed a foul smell coming from a locked bathroom.

Police said that when she was found she was tied up around her arms and legs, and was bruised all over her body. Among her injuries were a serious wound to the right leg that exposed the bone.

Abused almost daily

Local papers reported Hani had been abused by her employers almost daily during the two months she worked at their home.

One of Asia’s largest importers of labour, Malaysia depends heavily on domestic workers, mainly from Indonesia, but has been criticised for not passing legislation to govern their rights and conditions.

In May, the government announced plans for new laws to protect domestic workers from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor working conditions.

Indonesian maids typically work seven days a week for as little as RM400 a month.

– AFP ,  Malaysiakini