Man arrested, violent wife hiding: Police

JAKARTA (JP): Police have detained the husband of a woman who allegedly assaulted five maids in Kembangan, West Jakarta, city police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday.

The man, identified only as Kresna, should also be held responsible for the behavior of his wife, who is now in hiding, Aritonang claimed.

Kresna was arrested Monday night when he returned home from work so police could question him about his wife's whereabouts, he said.

Four of Kresna's five maids -- Yati, Tarsini, Umi and Nurhikmah -- fled Monday morning from their employer's house in the Puri Kencana housing estate, Block K8 No. 3, Kembangan, after allegedly being assaulted by the woman, whose name has not been released, he said.

The four maids, who had bruises on their faces and bodies, went directly to the Kembangan Police subprecinct to report the assault.

A police officer said the maids managed to escape from the house when their employers were not at home.

The maids alleged that Kresna's wife had frequently beaten them with her hands or with a broom stick.

"She beat us whenever she was disappointed with our work. She did not give us time to rest either," the officer quoted the maids as saying.

The maids told the police that another maid, Umi, had allegedly suffered a severe eye wound and was sent back to her hometown in Pekalongan on Sunday night, the officer said.

"Umi was struck in the eye because she did not follow our employer's instruction about cleaning the house," they alleged.

The maids said that Kresna had never been involved in the beatings.

Their wages were reduced whenever their work was considered to fall short of expectations, the women claimed.

They were required to pay Rp 1,000 (less than 30 U.S. cents) for every mosquito or fly found in the house, the officer quoted the maids as saying.

The head of security guards in the housing complex, Kusnadi, told the police that he had twice talked to the woman, asking her not to beat the maids.

"The maids often told me about their employer's bad treatment," Kusnadi said. "They didn't dare leave because they hadn't got their salaries."

Aritonang said Kresna's family had hired the maids from several companies that supply hired help, including Pancaran Asih in Jembatan Lima, Central Jakarta, and Setia Bakti in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

He said the woman's alleged treatment of the maids was intolerable.

"I don't understand how she could do such things to her maids."

He promised that the police would find the woman and investigate the case thoroughly.

The maids had been sent to the Navy Hospital in Kedoya, West Jakarta, for examination, Aritonang said.

"The results will be used as evidence against the suspect," he said. (cst)