'Officer has history of domestic violence'
'Officer has history of domestic violence'
JAKARTA (JP): A domestic help supplier revealed on Wednesday
that the mid-ranking naval officer whose maid committed suicide
in his house earlier this month had employed seven maids from the
agency within less than one year.
Suparlan, the owner of the Leksana Mandiri agency, told The
Jakarta Post that since last October, he had supplied seven
domestics to Maj. Edison Hutapea.
Hutapea came to the agency many times seeking new maids after
the previous ones had fled from his house, usual after about two
weeks of employment, Suparlan said.
Suparlan never suspected that Hutapea and his wife could be
violent people.
"He is very soft spoken and polite. Besides, he's in the navy
while his wife is a policewoman, people with respected
positions ... we never suspected anything," Suparlan said.
Jumiati, a housemaid who worked for Hutapea and his wife,
First.Adj.Insp. Marsini Napitupulu, was sent to Cipto
Mangunkusumo Public Hospital on Sept.7 with burns all over her
body after her coworker Sipon had set herself ablaze. Sipon died
in the incident.
Suparlan said that on July 5, a house maid returned to his
agency the day after she had been employed by Hutapea. The maid,
Kusuma, 18, said that Hutapea had a bad temper and often made
cutting remarks without any apparent reason.
On the same day, Hutapea came to the agency asking for the
replacement.
Suparlan without hesitation provided another worker for the
family.
"I thought Kurnia was just making the story up because she was
still young and wanted her freedom ... that's why I later
proposed an older person," he explained.
He sent Wiji, who, according to her identity card, was born in
Surakarta, Central Java, in 1947.
Wiji was also known as Sipon, the maid who doused herself with
kerosene and set herself ablaze in despair, reportedly because
she could not stand being assaulted any longer by her employers.
Suparlan, who refers the housemaids as "my children", does not
appear to have any particular means of preventing them from being
hired by potentially abusive employers.
As long as a future employer is able to present a copy of
their identity card and pay the Rp 300,000 (US$27.90) agency fee,
Suparlan is willing to provide a domestic helper.
But the employer may request a replacement domestic without
any additional charge if the maid proves to be incompetent or
flees, as happened in the Hutapea case.
"Before they go to their new employer's house, I remind the
children that if they find themselves in any difficulty in their
new place, they should immediately ask to be sent back to the
agency," Suparlan said.
At the nearby Agung Bina Karya agency, where Jumiati was
recruited by Hutapea, the safety of maids is also not the
agency's primary concern.
Sutadi, the agency's owner, said it was impossible to
determine the future employer's nature.
"After they (employers) sign the agreement, provide a copy of
their identity card and pay the fee, we then send them the maid,"
Sutadi said while acknowledging that some of his workers had
complained of maltreatment from their employers in the past.(06)
JAKARTA (JP): A domestic help supplier revealed on Wednesday
that the mid-ranking naval officer whose maid committed suicide
in his house earlier this month had employed seven maids from the
agency within less than one year.
Suparlan, the owner of the Leksana Mandiri agency, told The
Jakarta Post that since last October, he had supplied seven
domestics to Maj. Edison Hutapea.
Hutapea came to the agency many times seeking new maids after
the previous ones had fled from his house, usual after about two
weeks of employment, Suparlan said.
Suparlan never suspected that Hutapea and his wife could be
violent people.
"He is very soft spoken and polite. Besides, he's in the navy
while his wife is a policewoman, people with respected
positions ... we never suspected anything," Suparlan said.
Jumiati, a housemaid who worked for Hutapea and his wife,
First.Adj.Insp. Marsini Napitupulu, was sent to Cipto
Mangunkusumo Public Hospital on Sept.7 with burns all over her
body after her coworker Sipon had set herself ablaze. Sipon died
in the incident.
Suparlan said that on July 5, a house maid returned to his
agency the day after she had been employed by Hutapea. The maid,
Kusuma, 18, said that Hutapea had a bad temper and often made
cutting remarks without any apparent reason.
On the same day, Hutapea came to the agency asking for the
replacement.
Suparlan without hesitation provided another worker for the
family.
"I thought Kurnia was just making the story up because she was
still young and wanted her freedom ... that's why I later
proposed an older person," he explained.
He sent Wiji, who, according to her identity card, was born in
Surakarta, Central Java, in 1947.
Wiji was also known as Sipon, the maid who doused herself with
kerosene and set herself ablaze in despair, reportedly because
she could not stand being assaulted any longer by her employers.
Suparlan, who refers the housemaids as "my children", does not
appear to have any particular means of preventing them from being
hired by potentially abusive employers.
As long as a future employer is able to present a copy of
their identity card and pay the Rp 300,000 (US$27.90) agency fee,
Suparlan is willing to provide a domestic helper.
But the employer may request a replacement domestic without
any additional charge if the maid proves to be incompetent or
flees, as happened in the Hutapea case.
"Before they go to their new employer's house, I remind the
children that if they find themselves in any difficulty in their
new place, they should immediately ask to be sent back to the
agency," Suparlan said.
At the nearby Agung Bina Karya agency, where Jumiati was
recruited by Hutapea, the safety of maids is also not the
agency's primary concern.
Sutadi, the agency's owner, said it was impossible to
determine the future employer's nature.
"After they (employers) sign the agreement, provide a copy of
their identity card and pay the fee, we then send them the maid,"
Sutadi said while acknowledging that some of his workers had
complained of maltreatment from their employers in the past.(06)