Indonesian maid gets death for murder in KL
Indonesian maid gets death for murder in KL
Agencies, Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta
An Indonesian housemaid was sentenced to death by hanging for killing her Malaysian employer who scolded her for burning a meal, news reports said on Friday.
Herlina Trisnawati, 22, had pleaded insanity when charged with murdering businesswoman Soon Lay Chuan in a Kuala Lumpur suburb on Aug. 14, 2001.
However, High Court judge K.N. Segara rejected the insanity plea on Thursday, saying he believed "there was premeditation" in Herlina's actions, the New Straits Times newspaper reported.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said in Jakarta on Friday that the government is currently trying to provide legal defense to Herlina, who comes from Indonesia's port city of Surabaya.
"Our lawyer Mr. Vijay has already announced that he will appeal. Let's wait for the legal course to finish," Hassan said.
He also said that Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris, who is now in Kuala Lumpur, will pursue the case with Malaysian authorities.
Herlina was accused of killing Soon by striking her with a pestle -- a handheld tool for grinding food -- after Soon had reprimanded her for a burning a meal of curry.
Indonesian migrant workers association Migrant Care criticized the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia on Friday for being too slow in dealing with Herlina's case.
"We wonder why the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia never announced that an Indonesian woman migrant worker was facing serious charges, for which she could get the death penalty. We also do not know what steps the Embassy took to support her in this case," Wahyu Susilo, Migrant Care's labor policy analyst, said in a press statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Migrant Care demanded the Indonesian government take proactive measures to appeal the case immediately so that the life of Herlina could be spared.
Herlina appeared puzzled when the sentence was passed and asked for permission to see her parents, the official Bernama news agency said.
Segara ordered the visit to be arranged and told Herlina: "Don't worry, you will not be hanged tomorrow."