Maid kicked, stomped child

By MUZLIZA MUSTAFA

SHE was kicked so hard that she was sent sprawling to the floor.
When the three-year-old got up, the maid grabbed her by the hand and started kicking her again repeatedly. Again, she was sent sprawling like a rag doll.

Like a woman possessed, the maid repeatedly stomped on the girl’s frail body. She stopped after a while, but continued stomping on the girl moments later.
This cruel act by an Indonesian maid was recorded by a young couple using a webcam installed in the living room of their condominium in Jalan Kuching.
But it could have been a different story if the couple had not had the presence of mind to make the recording.

When confronted on Tuesday, the 18-year-old maid allegedly tried to jump off the couple’s fourth fl oor condominium balcony, prompting a cleaner to call the police.
When the cops arrived, she told them that she had been assaulted by the couple.
Police then hauled the employers, their children and the maid to the Sentul police station for questioning.

The couple spent hours explaining what had happened, and it was during questioning that they produced the footage to back up their claim that their daughter had been abused.
The couple, who had been married for three years, also claimed that the maid had abused their one-year-old son as well. They lodged a report on the alleged abuse the next day.
The couple had told police that they had installed the webcam two weeks ago after their daughter frequently complained of stomach pain.
When they asked the maid, she allegedly told them that it could be because the girl took too much yogurt drinks.

Suspicious, the couple decided to install a webcam on the personal computer in the living room.
In the fi rst week, they caught the maid abusing their youngest. They confronted her and warned her not to repeat it.

On Tuesday, she did it again — this time, the couple’s threeyear- old girl was the target.
But before they could lodge a complaint with the authorities, the maid turned the tables around.
When police arrived after being alerted by the cleaner, the maid told police that she had been assaulted.

The maid sustained injuries to the head and several other parts of her body. She was sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Police are investigating whether the injuries had been self-infl icted or caused by others.
The maid, in her police report, had claimed that the couple was responsible for the injuries.
It is learnt that the maid’s 29- year-old female employer, who works with a shopping mall in the city, had returned home when she felt “uneasy” while working.

She felt the need to check on her maid and children.
Her husband of three years, a 26-year-old computer programmer, arrived later. It was when they checked the recording that they discovered what the maid had done to their daughter.
It was the third time unlucky for the couple. Their fi rst two maids ran away after working with them for less than a year.

The maid allegedly involved in the abuses had been working with them for more than a year.
The Malay Mail spoke to the couple who said their children had been sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for medical check-ups.

The husband declined to give The Malay Mail access to the footage of the alleged incident.
“We are afraid of the impact it might have on the children. We are sorry,” he said.
The wife said she did not know if they would get a maid after the episode.
“There are those lucky enough to get good maids, and there are those who are not as fortunate,” she said.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief senior Assistant Commissioner II Ku Chin Wah confi rmed that police were investigating both reports.
He said police have also retrieved the recordings from the couple.
“We are also investigating the maid’s claim that the couple had infl icted injuries on her with a weapon,” he said.
Ku said the couple was released early yesterday after police recorded their statements.

The maid has been remanded.