120 RI maids in Sarawak take refuge<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP): Some 120 Indonesian maids
\nfleeing physical abuse or attempted rape by employers or agents
\nhave taken refuge at their country's consulate in an east
\nMalaysian state, a report said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Nugraha, consul general in Sarawak, was quoted by the Sun
\nnewspaper as saying the maids had taken refuge over the past
\nseven months.<\/p>\n
\"We provide food and accommodation but they have to sleep on
\nthe floor,\" he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
\"They are crowded into two rooms and there are no blankets.\"<\/p>\n
Nugraha said the maids aged 15 to 25 would eventually be sent
\nback to their homes in Indonesia's neighboring West Kalimantan
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
There is an urgent need for formal agreements between maids,
\nagents and employers to ensure fairness and avoid abuse, he was
\nquoted as saying.<\/p>\n
One maid aged 22 was quoted as saying she was raped three
\ntimes by her local recruiting agent before she fled.<\/p>\n
Nugraha said some maids from mainly Muslim Indonesia ran away
\nfrom employers because they were forced to eat pork, were
\nphysically abused or were not paid wages.<\/p>\n
Last week police in Sarawak arrested one employer who
\nallegedly made her Indonesian maid drink bleach as well as
\nbeating and scalding her.<\/p>\n
Reports of a series of attacks on Indonesian maids throughout
\nthe country this year have shocked many Malaysians.<\/p>\n
Some employers have been charged and the cabinet ordered a
\nstudy into ways of protecting foreign domestic helpers.<\/p>\n
Some 150,000 foreign maids, mainly Indonesians, work in
\nMalaysia to escape poverty back home.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/120-ri-maids-in-sarawak-take-refuge-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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