Indonesian maid clinging to life after sponsor's brutal torture
Indonesian maid clinging to life after sponsor's brutal torture
An Indonesian maid is fighting for her life after suffering
sadistic tortures and rape by her sponsor, the Saudi newspaper
Arab News reported on Sunday.
Twenty-five-year-old Suniati Binti Nibaran Sujari was in a
critical condition in intensive care with burns to more than half
of her body and brutal injuries to her genitals, said the paper.
It is the second case of brutal torture of an Indonesian maid
reported within the last three weeks in Saudi Arabia.
Sujari was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Riyadh
Medical Complex on Thursday morning. Her employer has been
detained and is being questioned by police about allegations of
sexual harassment and physical torture.
Nasser Al-Dandani, a Saudi lawyer representing the Indonesian
Embassy in this case, confirmed that Suniati had been tortured
but refused to give further details.
Arif Suyoko, a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh
told Arab News Suniati has suffered extensive burn injuries on
her face, her hands, legs and all across her abdomen and
genitals.
"She could only nod her head and blink her eyes when the name
of her employer as culprit was mentioned to her in the hospital,"
said Suyoko, and indicated her condition was deteriorating.
"She is unable to swallow solid foods because of severe burns
on her chest," he added.
"Suniati probably has been raped besides being tortured by her
sponsor and his family members," Suyoko said. The maid hails from
West Java in Indonesia.
In comments to Arab News, embassy officials also expressed
concern that cases of sadistic torture and brutal beatings of
housemaids appeared on the increase.
"There is a need to streamline the whole process of maid
deployment," said another diplomat, adding that Jakarta's ban on
deployment of maids in Saudi Arabia continues.
Saudi Arabia is currently home to more than 600,000 Indonesian
women workers, most of them domestic aides.
The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh is receiving nearly 10
complaints per day from maids, while the Indonesian Consulate in
Jeddah has been handling some five to seven complaints a day.
Another 25-year old maid from Indonesia was admitted to
hospital in Riyadh on March 19. She had been tied up for a month
in a bathroom and repeatedly beaten by her sponsor and was
suffering from gangrene, severe contusions, bleeding and stress.
Four of her fingers had to be amputated and further surgical
procedures were not ruled out. --DPA