Herlina's mother appeals to SBY

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.