Saudi princess arrested for beating Indonesian maid

Saudi princess arrested for beating Indonesian maid

Associated Press, Orlando, Florida

Police arrested a Saudi princess at a luxury resort and charged her with felony aggravated battery for beating her Indonesian maid and pushing her down a flight of stairs.

Princess Buniah al-Saud, a niece of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was being held without bond at a county jail for beating Memet Ismiyati.

The princess could receive 15 years in prison if convicted of the second-degree felony.

Neighbors called police on Friday after Ismiyati, 36, ran crying from the apartment she shared with the princess in Orange County, Florida. She told deputies al-Saud beat her, hit her head against a wall and pushed her down a flight of stairs, leaving her unable to walk.

"When we talked to her (Ismiyati) through an Indonesian interpreter and saw the extent of her injuries, we upgraded the charges to a felony," said Orange County's Undersheriff Malone Stewart.

Ismiyati was treated and released from a local hospital.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., said the princess had diplomatic immunity. But the Immigration and Naturalization Service said al-Saud, 41, did not tell them of her travel plans, stripping her of diplomatic immunity.

Stewart said State Department officials want to talk to al- Saud.

"It doesn't matter who she's related to," he said. "This lady is not here lawfully."

In 1995, another Saudi princess, Princess Maha al-Sudairi, wife of the heir to the throne, was accused of beating a servant in Orange County who stole US$200,000 from her. Four off-duty Orange County sheriff's deputies were disciplined for mishandling the incident.