Indonesia

Minister urges Saudi Arabia to mete out heavy punishment to guilty employers

30 Sept 2007; Tangerang (ANTARA News) - The government of Indonesia through its foreign ministry has reportedly urged legal enforcers in Saudi Arabia to mete out heavy punishment against employers proven by the court for their involvement in torturing two Indonesian female domestic helpers to death.

"We have sent this message through our consul in Riyard to Saudi Arabian law enforcers to heed our call for the enforcement of justice against the quilty," Director of the Indonesian Workers Protection at the Foreign Ministry Teguh Wardoyo told Antara here on Saturday.

According to him, the torture which ended with the death of the female house helpers was never justified by the law as it was against the principles of human rights and also religious tenets.

He made the statement at a waiting gallary of the Soehartno Hatta`s Terminal II on the sideline of a return of two dead bodies - Siti Tarwiyah and Susmiyati- from Riyard by a Saudi Air passenger plane.

Siti Tarwiyah had worked at the house of her employer identified as Yahya Madhid Al Syagatsrah in Al Mamlukah region about 350 km from Riyard since October 2006.

Nine months since her employement with Yahya`s family, the communication with her family in Indonesia ran well and in fact, she had ever sent about Rp5.7 million to her family in Indonesia.

In the past three months, the communication never happened. But on August 8, her family in Indonesia received a report on Siti`s death.

In the meantime, Susmiyati worked at the family of Mubarak Hamad Al Syagain and started as a domestic helper since January 2007.

Susmiyati was reported to get a similar torture from her employer which ended with death. Then, Mubarak`s family was trying to persuade the death body`s family especially her husband, Daryoto (32) in order to avoid from "qisos" law.

The dead body of Susmiyati will be flown to her home village in Bongkol, Pati District, Central Java from Soekarno-Hatta airport on a Garuda passenger plane GA-244 to Semarang before proceeding to Pati by an ambulance car.(*)

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