Fadli The Jakarta Post/Batam Lured by promises of a high salary and better working conditions, Oneng left her hometown in the West Java town of Cianjur to work as a maid in Malaysia with high hopes.

But these hopes were soon dashed. After working in Johor Bahru for just a month, the 35-year-old ended up in the Batam City's welfare office on Tuesday, lying helplessly in a worn-out bed, injured and poor.

She was sent back home by the Consulate General's office in Johor Bahru along with five other Indonesian migrant workers after her employer callously abandoned her on the road. Oneng suffered pelvic injuries after she fell to the ground from the second-floor apartment where she worked.

"After learning that I fell and could not walk normally, my employer left me at an intersection in Johor Bahru. I could only cry there until a person took me to the Consulate General's office in Johor," she told The Jakarta Post.

Oneng was originally sent to Johor Bahru from Batam through a manpower agent to work as a maid with a set salary of RM 450 per month. But she never got paid.

"I had just arrived and started work in Malaysia but then I suffered this misfortune. I have no money to bring back home while my stomach is in great pain ... I just want to go home," Oneng said in tears.

Batam City Social Services Office social insurance and assistance division head Zulfikar Idham said an increasing number of Indonesian migrant workers in difficulty were using the help of the service to return to Batam.

Last year, the office received 175 Indonesian migrant workers, while until September this year it had already accommodated 222 workers, mostly women, Zulfikar said.

"The number of troubled workers who are being sent back by the Consulate General keeps on increasing in number, while the city administration only sets aside a limited budget to deal with the problem. We need the central government's attention to help deal with this matter," he said.