KL police hunt for abusers of RI maid

KL police hunt for abusers of RI maid

MALAYSIA: Malaysian police are searching for three family members who went into hiding after they were accused of subjecting their Indonesian housemaid to beatings and sexual assaults, news reports said on Sunday.

The three suspects allegedly tortured 19-year-old Hanif Muaarah for nearly a year at their home in a Kuala Lumpur suburb, police spokesman Mohamad Fuad Talib told the Bernama national news agency.

Hanif, who decided to flee the house on Friday, has been hospitalized with serious injuries to her body and private parts, Mohamad Fuad said.

Mohamad Fuad said Hanif told police that her employer and two other family members inserted hard objects into her private parts, electrocuted her, beat her with sticks and took nude photographs of her on repeated occasions.

Mohamad Fuad said the suspects have since fled the house, but police have mounted a search for them.

Police have received more than 150 cases of maid abuse since 2001, as increasing numbers of Malaysians employ maids from neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines. -- DPA