Maid's body arrives home after 2 months

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

The body of Sunarsih Sawit, an Indonesian worker who died in Malaysia two months ago, arrived home here on Thursday aboard a plane from Kuala Lumpur.

Her remains were later transported to her hometown of Madiun, East Java, by an ambulance after the Malaysian Airways plane landed in Juanda Airport, Surabaya.

Her relatives, who welcomed Sunarsih's body at the airport, were dry-eyed.

"We have already left it (in God's care) since we first heard of Narsih's death," said Suwito, her younger brother who picked up Sunarsih's body to take home.

It was not clear whether an autopsy would be conducted before she was to be buried at her home village Wonosari, Madiun, as the family harbors some doubts as to the cause of her death.

Sunarsih, 32, died on Aug. 16, 2003, reportedly from a stomachache she had suffered for some time while working in Malaysia. She is survived by her husband Mujiyo and daughters Ika Pujiastuti, 14, and Ayu Dwi Ramadani, 2.

She left for Malaysia in May 2003 to work as a maid in Kuala Lumpur at the house of her employer, Leong Yee Seng.

"It was her second trip after she had returned home from Malaysia to give birth to Ayu. After Ayu was two years old, Sunarsih flew back to Malaysia in May," Suwito said.

Sunarsih, the eldest daughter of Kasan Sawit and Giati, later told them she was not happy working for Leong, but did not say why. In August, she changed her job and started working at a bar in Selangor, after she met Indonesian male worker Solikhin from Central Java.

Sudarmin, who chairs the labor recruitment agencies (PJTKI) in Madiun, confirmed that Sunarsih ran away from her employer and began work in a Selangor bar.

Only days after her move, Suwito received an SMS message informing him of the death of his sister. "According to the report, Narsih died from a stomachache she had been suffering," he said.

He and Sudarmin both said Sunarsih's body went missing until recently, when her body was found in a Malaysian hospital. It is not clear how or who had admitted her body to the hospital morgue, nor whether she had been receiving treatment there.

The death sparked doubts among the victim's family and relatives, who say Sunarsih never suffered from stomach ailments.

"We believe it, and we don't. We are leaving it to God," Suwito said. He said the bereaved family had not yet considered whether to make a legal case over Sunarsih's death or not.

Sudarmin, however, rejected the idea that Sunarsih was killed, and insisted she had died from a stomachache. "If it's not true that she was tortured to death."

Unconfirmed reports suggested that Sunarsih sustained stomach pains after having been beaten several times in Malaysia.

No information is available from either Indonesian or Malaysian authorities as to whether an investigation has been opened into her case.