Employer says sorry for abusing Indonesian maid

KUALA LUMPUR, Tues:

The employer of the maid who tried to escape by climbing down from the 15th floor of a condominium has admitted to abusing the woman and apologised for it.
The employer, a 35-year-old woman, even tried to settle out of court, saying she would pay all the maid’s wages.However, the Indonesian Embassy, acting on behalf of the maid, has turned down the offer and will take the employer to court.A spokesman for the embassy said the maid, Ceriyati Dapin, 33, who had earlier been reported as being named Shamelin, would be protected by the embassy.He said the employer, her husband and a maid agency employee were met by Indonesian Embassy Immigration head Bambang Widodo, Security head Tatang Razak and the Attache for Labour Workers Teguh Cahyono.

"We have taken Ceriyati for a medical check-up. She is badly bruised and has lost 10kg in weight since she arrived in Malaysia," the spokes-man said. Sentul police chief ACP K. Kumaran said police had recorded a statement from the employer.Met at the embassy yesterday, Ceriyati claimed she had been punched, strangled and hit with objects by her employer since Jan 19."She would even strip me and abuse me in the bathroom if I made a mistake." She said the woman’s husband, who stayed at the condominium infrequently, was a good man and tried to stop his wife from abusing her, but to no avail.She said she had been beaten again on the day of her escape, which she claimed she decided on when her employer threatened to kill her if she made another mistake that day.Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat visited Ceriyati at the embassy yesterday. He said he was sad and disappointed that such an incident had occurred.

Aseh also met other alleged victims there who were ab-used or mistreated and had not been paid for months.Ceriyati tried to climb down from the 15th floor apartment she was locked in, on Saturday. She fashioned a rope by tying pieces of cloth together.After climbing down several floors, she lost her nerve and clung on to the rope and the facade of the building. Residents who saw her hanging from the rope called firemen, who rescued the bruised maid.