Maid's body arrives home after 2 months<\/p>\n
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The body of Sunarsih Sawit, an Indonesian worker who died in
\nMalaysia two months ago, arrived home here on Thursday aboard a
\nplane from Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Her remains were later transported to her hometown of Madiun,
\nEast Java, by an ambulance after the Malaysian Airways plane
\nlanded in Juanda Airport, Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Her relatives, who welcomed Sunarsih's body at the airport,
\nwere dry-eyed.<\/p>\n
\"We have already left it (in God's care) since we first heard
\nof Narsih's death,\" said Suwito, her younger brother who picked
\nup Sunarsih's body to take home.<\/p>\n
It was not clear whether an autopsy would be conducted before
\nshe was to be buried at her home village Wonosari, Madiun, as the
\nfamily harbors some doubts as to the cause of her death.<\/p>\n
Sunarsih, 32, died on Aug. 16, 2003, reportedly from a
\nstomachache she had suffered for some time while working in
\nMalaysia. She is survived by her husband Mujiyo and daughters Ika
\nPujiastuti, 14, and Ayu Dwi Ramadani, 2.<\/p>\n
She left for Malaysia in May 2003 to work as a maid in Kuala
\nLumpur at the house of her employer, Leong Yee Seng.<\/p>\n
\"It was her second trip after she had returned home from
\nMalaysia to give birth to Ayu. After Ayu was two years old,
\nSunarsih flew back to Malaysia in May,\" Suwito said.<\/p>\n
Sunarsih, the eldest daughter of Kasan Sawit and Giati, later
\ntold them she was not happy working for Leong, but did not say
\nwhy. In August, she changed her job and started working at a bar
\nin Selangor, after she met Indonesian male worker Solikhin from
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
Sudarmin, who chairs the labor recruitment agencies (PJTKI) in
\nMadiun, confirmed that Sunarsih ran away from her employer and
\nbegan work in a Selangor bar.<\/p>\n
Only days after her move, Suwito received an SMS message
\ninforming him of the death of his sister. \"According to the
\nreport, Narsih died from a stomachache she had been suffering,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He and Sudarmin both said Sunarsih's body went missing until
\nrecently, when her body was found in a Malaysian hospital. It is
\nnot clear how or who had admitted her body to the hospital
\nmorgue, nor whether she had been receiving treatment there.<\/p>\n
The death sparked doubts among the victim's family and
\nrelatives, who say Sunarsih never suffered from stomach ailments.<\/p>\n
\"We believe it, and we don't. We are leaving it to God,\"
\nSuwito said. He said the bereaved family had not yet considered
\nwhether to make a legal case over Sunarsih's death or not.<\/p>\n
Sudarmin, however, rejected the idea that Sunarsih was killed,
\nand insisted she had died from a stomachache. \"If it's not true
\nthat she was tortured to death.\"<\/p>\n
Unconfirmed reports suggested that Sunarsih sustained stomach
\npains after having been beaten several times in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
No information is available from either Indonesian or
\nMalaysian authorities as to whether an investigation has been
\nopened into her case.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/maids-body-arrives-home-after-2-months-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}