Malaysian employers lock Indonesian maid on exposed balcony, only allowed inside to work
- Case reignites calls for outlawing of maid system which is seen by many as modern-day slavery
An Indonesian maid working in Malaysia, who was locked out on the balcony to sleep and only allowed indoors for a few hours a day to clean, has been rescued after throwing a note into the street.
The incident, reported by The Star, ignited international outrage, with many calling for the outlawing of the foreign maid system and decrying it as modern-day slavery.
The 21-year-old Indonesian woman who works in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, revealed she had been subjected to daily scolding from her employer.
She was only allowed to enter the flat from 5am to 11am to clean it. For the rest of the day, she was on the balcony, with the door securely locked from the inside.
She endured constant verbal abuse from her employers.
They gave her a mattress and pillow but no shelter so she got soaked whenever it rained.
Desperate for help, she wrote a note and dropped it from the balcony, which eventually led to police intervention.
On June 9, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) conducted a raid on her employers’ home.
Soffian Santong, principal assistant director of Atipsom, confirmed that the maid was forced to stay on the balcony instead of being provided proper living conditions.
Despite her ordeal, the employee had not been paid because she had only been working for the family for about a week.
A 69-year-old woman, believed to be her employer, has been detained, and the case is under investigation.
The woman’s ordeal triggered public outrage around the world.
“The employer should be hanged,” said one person.
“This employer does not even treat the maid as a human being. I hope she gets the punishment she deserves,” another said.
“This type of family should be banned from hiring a maid forever,” someone else wrote.
“Time to outlaw modern day slavery in the guise of foreign maids,” another wrote.
The incident is a reminder for many of the fate of another Indonesian maid, Adelina Lisao, who died in February 2018 in Penang.
She suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her employers, including being forced to sleep with a Rottweiler, which repeatedly bit her but she was not given medical treatment.
In February 2024, the High Court in Penang awarded RM750,000 (US$160,000) in damages to Adelina’s mother.
