This Couple Starved Their 24-Year-Old Maid To death
The Penang High Court sentenced a couple from Bukit Mertajam to 24 years of jail time each after they were found guilty of cuplable homicide not amounting to murder over the death of their Cambodian maid Mey Sichan, 24, who died after prolonged starvation in 2012. What are the other cases of maid abuse that you've heard about?
By Melody Oei — 16 May 2013, 06:09 PM — Updated about 11 years ago
A couple starved their Cambodian maid to death
The couple was sentenced to 24 years in jail for starving their Cambodian maid to death, one of many such abuse cases straining ties between the country and its neighbours.
Cambodian maid Mey Sichan found dead
Tertuduh, Soh Chew Tong, 44, dan isteri, Chin Chui Ling, 42, diperintah menjalani hukuman penjara itu bermula tarikh mereka ditahan, pada 1 April lalu.
terbakor.comMey had been working for the couple since September 2011. She was found dead in a storeroom on the second floor of the shophouse on April 1 last year and weighed just 26 kilograms (57 pounds) and has bruises on her body.
"In totality, the deceased did not receive enough food and had sustained injuries that were inflicted over time which further aggravated her gastric ulcer that led to acute peritonitis and that had caused her death."
Mey Sichan died after prolonged starvation.
thestar.com.my
In the courtroom with Justice Datuk Zamani Abdul Rahim
In his judgement, Justice Datuk Zamani Abdul Rahim said the case had damaged Malaysia’s image as Cambodia wanted to stop sending its citizens here as domestic workers.
The evidence presented in court showed that Mey was denied food over a long period of time, "There were scars on her body...including lacerations and multiple bruises, and there was a lack of fatty tissue or muscle layer on the wall of her abdominals and chest."
He said that the prosecution had proven a case for culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the couple. He had earlier amended their charge from murder to culpable homicide at the end of the prosecution's case.
thestar.com.my
He added that the public should not resort to torturing if they are not happy with their maids' services. "I have a maid myself. If I did not like my maid, I just need to send her off, not torture her," Zamani said after reading out the sentence here today, 16 May.
The repercussions of domestic help abuse
In response to a series of abuse cases, Cambodia stopped sending its citizens as domestic workers to Malaysia in late 2011, while Indonesia for years suspended sending maids.
saudigazette.com.sa
Malaysia promised to improve their welfare & protection, including giving them 1 day off/week but activists say the women remain vulnerable to sexual abuse, overwork & exploitation. Many maids, who live with the families where they work, still don't get a day off & aren't allowed to leave the home.
saudigazette.com.sa
Related: Maids abused in Malaysia
A licensed maid agency in Klang was raided by the Immigration Department on the 2nd of December 2012, where more than 100 foreigners were found held captive in a four-storey building. They were not given their pay for six months, and were not cared for at all by their 'employer'.
says2.com