RI maid testifies in rape trial in Penang

RI maid testifies in rape trial in Penang

An Indonesian domestic helper was raped and tortured by having chili powder rubbed over her face and vagina, a report said on Thursday, in the latest alleged case of maid abuse in Malaysia.

Seow Eng Aik, 37, is on trial in northern Penang state charged with three counts of raping the 20-year-old. Seow's wife Tan Seok Hoon is also on trial charged with abetting him on one occasion, the Star newspaper reported.

The victim was doing housework at her employers' flat last July when Tan pulled her by her t-shirt, the report said.

"I was taken into her room. Shortly afterwards she left the room and returned with some pounded chilies," the maid was quoted as telling the Sessions Court in Penang on Wednesday.

The chili was then rubbed on her face and her private parts, she added.

Seow had pleaded not guilty to raping the maid.

Some 100,000 Indonesian maids work in Malaysia. They often receive only US$100 a month and many are forced to work long hours with little protection from labor laws. --AFP