Indonesian maids appeal for leniency in murder case

Indonesian maids appeal for leniency in murder case

Hera Diani
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

As the trial of two Indonesian domestic workers charged with
murder in Singapore draws near, the Indonesian government has
pleaded with the city state's authorities to spare them from the
death penalty.

Juminem, 19, and Siti Aminah, 18, are facing the death
sentence after confessing to killing Juminem's employer, Ang Imm
Suan, in March last year.

They are being detained at the Changi Women's Prison, with
their trial slated to begin on March 28.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Mochamad Slamet Hidayat
said here on Thursday that a team of noted lawyers who are
working pro bono will defend the maids at the trial.

"We are hoping that the sentences for Juminem and Siti can be
reduced," Hidayat told a hearing at the office of the National
Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).

The Indonesian Embassy had succeeded in helping another
migrant worker, Sundarti Supriyanto, evade the death sentence
earlier this year. She was given a life term for multiple crimes,
including murder. This sentence is now also being appealed to a
higher court.

Hidayat said Siti stood a great chance of escaping the death
sentence as she was still underage when the killing occurred.

Singaporean lawyer Jimmy Yim said his defense argument would
be based on reports that the defendants were "not themselves" at
the time the crime was committed.

"We are going to argue that the defendants were suffering
accumulated stress and humiliation and that they had medically
lost their minds when committing the crime," Yim told the
hearing.

Juminem, he said, was bullied by her employer, who made her
work long hours from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, and
very rarely allowed her to go out.

For the first seven months of her contract, most of Juminem's
salary was withheld by her agent, and she received only S$10
(US$5.80) per month.

In her diary, Yim said, Juminem wrote that her employer was
initially nice, but later on became harsh, perhaps of cultural
differences.

"After a while, the scolding increased, and Juminem was often
hit. Towards the end of seven months, she wrote in the diary: 'I
pray to God He will forgive me if I take revenge'," Yim said.

Juminem then asked her good friend Siti to help kill her
employer. To disguise the murder as a robbery, both defendants
took credit cards, checkbooks and over S$8,000 cash belonging to
the employer, which were later stored at Siti's place.

"It won't be an easy defense, but we believe the two don't
deserve to die. Juminem was suffering a lot in her mind and her
heart. We will not lose hope," Yim said.

The trial of Juminem and Siti extended the long list of
problems Indonesian migrant workers face in Singapore. Around
45,000 of them are domestic workers.

Many Indonesian migrant workers in Singapore have died after
falling from high-rise apartments, committing suicide, or from
illnesses or drug overdoses.

Hidayat said the problems had their roots back home, with the
absence of coordination and control in the recruitment process,
resulting in rampant identity fraud.

The workers sent are mostly young or even underaged,
uneducated and unskilled, he said.

"The pressure of work and difficulty in adjusting to the new
environment then caused psychological problems. They are also
unaware of their own rights," he added.