Herlina's mother appeals to SBY

Iman Dwianto Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Krian

The death sentence handed down by the Kula Lumpur High Court on Thursday to Herlina Trisnawati, a 22-year-old migrant worker, has caused a stir in her hometown in East Java.

Villagers, who had regarded Herlina as a shy girl, were stunned by the court's decision.

In a show of solidarity, locals stayed at her parents' house in Sidorno Kebon, Krian, East Java until Friday night, a day after the sentence was announced by the Kuala Lumpur court. Some people were seen sitting on mats at the end of the alley leading to the house, which is situated in the middle of a bamboo farm.

"This is how our house looks, very modest," said Herlina's mother, Nanik Indrawati, who was sitting on the veranda. The brick walls of the house are not painted, it has a dirt floor.

Two shadow puppets adorn one wall, and, in the family room, a 14-inch TV sits atop an old cupboard jam-packed with clothes and books.

Nanik said that she had not heard from Herlina, the third of her four children, since she left for Malaysia in 2001 through an employment agency in Surabaya.

She was just 18-years-old then. "Her passport was forged. It stated that she was 22 and came from Blitar," said Nanik.

After just three months in Malaysia, Herlina was implicated in the murder case. "What else can I do?" Nanik said, tears welling in her eyes.

The death sentence means that the family's hopes of improving their economic condition are crushed. The family can only rely on the earnings of Sutrisno, Herlina's father, who is a pedicab driver.

Formerly close to her daughter, Nanik struggles to believe that Herlina could commit murder. "It may have been self defense after frequently being beaten by her employer, until she eventually hit her," she said.

Nanik recalled that Herlina was a fainthearted person. "She was even scared to shoo away a cockroach, let alone kill a person," she said.

Even though the sentence has been handed down, Nanik still hopes that the Malaysian courts will reconsider it, and begs President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to intervene: "Please save my daughter's life Pak SBY, as she is the breadwinner of the family".

Through the media, Nanik has encouraged Herlina, who is now appealing to a higher court, to be patient and keep praying. "God has planned something for us, and I ask Lina to be patient," she said.

In the court session on Thursday, Herlina was found guilty of murdering her employer, Mrs. Soon Lay Suan, by hitting her over the head with a mortar in the Subang Jaya area on Aug. 14, three years ago. They were engaged in a spat over a burned meal.

Another heavy jail sentence was handed down to Sundarti, an Indonesian migrant worker, in Singapore, two months ago. Sundarti, 24, from Magetan regency in East Java, was accused of murdering her employer and her employer's child in Singapore early this year.

Initially, prosecutors had demanded the death sentence, however, due to reports of her abuse at the hands of her employer she was sentenced to life imprisonment.