18 years for torturing her maid

UPDATED: yim gets bail (RM200,000!!) and stay of extension and is appealing. good lord! i hope it won’t turned out that she does not have to spend time in jail. the bail posted was RM200,000 mind you. so it seems that with money, one can get away….

ORIGIINAL

yeah i prefer to use the word ‘torture’ now, though when i first blog about it, i used ‘abuse’.

yes, this case happened 4 years ago and since my blog is that old – i had blog about it that time. that was just 1 year after i started blogging and i was using blogspot at that time. there were several comments at that post acutally but it seemed that when i imported my posts from blogspot to wordpress (present blog), all the comments were lost.

so, i read from malaysiakini that the sentence the lady employer, yim pek ha (picture left, from malaysiakini) received was 18 years in prison. yim’s lawyer had said that the sentence is too harsh, which is more severe than for culpable homicide. too harsh? nah, i don’t think so. culpable homicide? well, who knows if the torture had not been found out the time it was found out, the maid, nirmala bonat might have been dead!

why did i use the word ‘torture’? well, see what yim did to her (all quotes from malaysiakini – full article below):

She had pressed a hot iron on Bonat’s back and breasts, and pouring hot water on her legs as punishment for not doing the chores properly.

[,,,]

Yim was charged with four counts of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the Indonesian, then 19, with a hot iron twice on a day in January and in April 2004, with using hot water on a day in March 2004, and using a metal cup at about 3pm on May 17, 2004.

… and i agree with what the DPP said:

"It is unbelievable that one woman would do that to another who is helpless. The extent of Nirmala’s injuries showed the inhumane nature of the perpetrator,"

(picture of nirmala, left, from malaysiakini)

indeed. for the life of me, i just can’t imagine one human being doing that to another human being. it was so cruel. so sadistic.

however, do you know that up to now yim still felt that she was innocent (and her lawyer too)? because there was this theory that the injuries she received were self-inflicted! crazy! self-inflicted to such extend? no way! reminds me of anwar’s black eye – the old man mentioned it could be self-inflicted, remember?

in the meantime, the just acquited irene fernandez, tenaganita’s director (tenaganita is a NGO dealing with migrant workers’ rights), said to let this be a ‘wake-up call’ to empoyers. what does she means by that? methink she hopes that yim’s sentence may serve as a er… deterent for employers to abuse their maids.

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said that the 18-year-jail sentence imposed on Yim Pek Ha for grievously hurting Nirmala Bonat "must bring out a lot of soul searching in how domestic workers are treated and employed in the country".

"Will the 18 years imprisonment be a wake-up call to employers and to all of us?" asked Fernandez in a statement today.

irene also put the blame partly on the government:

"The conditions of work are not regulated. The employer is given the right to hold the passport of the domestic worker.

"There is neither a law nor a standardised contract to protect Nirmala and all other domestic workers.

"The government provided the condition of isolation by not giving a paid day off. And consequently, it opened the doors for abuse and exploitation," she said.

true indeed. migrant workers and refugees in our country always get a raw deal from the government (think RELA workers!). irene know what she’s talking about since she had been involved with helping migrant workers for years and her office tenaganita  has handled more than 188 cases of domestic workers who have been abused, raped and exploited with intense human rights violations. ok, you’d better read the full article from malaysiakini, to see what she had to say.

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Malaysiakini
Let this be the ‘wake-up call’ to employers
Nov 27, 08 6:34pm

Migrant workers’ rights group Tenaganita today reiterated its call for a better protection of foreign domestic workers in the wake of a

MCPX

court decision against a homemaker for injuring her Indonesian maid.

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said that the 18-year-jail sentence imposed on Yim Pek Ha for grievously hurting Nirmala Bonat "must bring out a lot of soul searching in how domestic workers are treated and employed in the country".

"Will the 18 years imprisonment be a wake-up call to employers and to all of us?" asked Fernandez in a statement today.

She said that it was time for everyone to critically address the conditions that enabled employers’ such as Yim to systematically and continuously harm her domestic worker.

"The power of the employer to hold her domestic workers passport; the non-recognition of Nirmala as a worker under the Employment Act: no off-day but work very long hours for seven days a week ; and kept in isolation gave Yim the confidence and the power to abuse and belief that Nirmala will never be able to seek redress.

"It is these conditions that must be addressed. Yim will pay through her jail sentence for the grievous hurt caused on Nirmala," she said.

However she added that it was not only Yim and her family who were responsible and she blamed the government too for being equally responsible.

"The conditions of work are not regulated. The employer is given the right to hold the passport of the domestic worker.

"There is neither a law nor a standardised contract to protect Nirmala and all other domestic workers.

"The government provided the condition of isolation by not giving a paid day off. And consequently, it opened the doors for abuse and exploitation," she said.

Time for ministry to act

Fernandez said that while it could be an end for Nirmala’s case, there were many more Nirmalas in the country who were in a vulnerable situation.

She said that Tenaganita has handled more than 188 cases of domestic workers who have been abused, raped and exploited with intense human rights violations.

She stressed that the government must attack the root causes of such forms of abuse and exploitation, adding that Tenaganita has launched a campaign to recognise domestic workers as workers.

Fernandez said that as a priority, the government must immediately recognise the conditions under which these domestic workers were working.

"There is a need to give a paid day off to all domestic workers and a standardised contract that will clearly state the terms and conditions of employment," she added.

She also urged the Human Resources Ministry to stop being silent as it is part of the abuse and exploitation of domestic workers.

"The ministry must do justice to more than half a million women who are working as domestic workers in this country.

"It is only when domestic workers are recognised as workers and protected through an effective legislation that we can say justice is done to Nirmala and all domestic workers," she said.

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Malaysiakini
Maid abuse: Housewife gets 18 years
Hafiz Yatim | Nov 27, 08 10:56am

Homemaker Yim Pek Ha was found guilty today of grievously hurting domestic helper Nirmala Bonat, and was sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Akhtar Tahir found Yim, 40, guilty on three counts of hurting Nirmala. An additional count of causing hurt was however not proven.

He sentenced her to 18 years’ jail on each of the three charges but ordered the sentences to run concurrently.

Akhtar said Yim (left) had committed sadistic behaviour that cannot be tolerated in a civil society.

She had pressed a hot iron on Bonat’s back and breasts, and pouring hot water on her legs as punishment for not doing the chores properly.

Yim was cleared of a fourth charge of breaking the maid’s nose.

"I agree with the prosecution that you have not shown remorse and have been in a state of denial throughout the case," he said, noting that the court has to give weight to the public interest in passing sentence.

In his judgment, Akhtar said there were suggestions the injury could have been the result of Nirmala suffering bouts of gila kambing (epilepsy).

"Fermima Anunut, the employer of Nirmala’s cousin, had testified that she (Nirmala) has the condition. However, Nirmala’s mother, when testifying, had denied this.

“The electrocardiogram test and examinations performed by doctors also proved that Nirmala does not suffer from the ailment.”

Akhtar said it was illogical for Nirmala to have suffered a seizure while in her room, and that she had injured herself.

"Furthermore, the court cannot accept how Fermima would have known that Nirmala had suffered seizures when Fermima herself was in Ipoh, working," he said.

Akhtar hence ruled that the injuries suffered by Nirmala were not self-inflicted.

The judge said evidence also showed that Yim was capable of such actions as she had testified to having slapped Nirmala in the past.

"From the statements of the accused while on the witness stand, she blamed the maid for this and that. I could still see Yim’s underlying anger even after three years. So it would not surprise me if she had caused the injuries. She also admitted that she had slapped the victim.

"Nirmala Bonat has been consistent in her statements that her lady boss injured her, in her testimony in court and from the time she was found by a security guard.

“The security guard had also given consistent evidence to say the female boss had done this to her. My finding of fact is that the injuries were not self-inflicted."

Akhtar said the court was also satisfied with the prosecution’s decision to classify the case under ‘grievous hurt’, as Nirmala testified that she had not taken a bath for 20 days after suffering injuries.

"If a person cannot take a bath for 20 days, it shows the extent of pain from the injuries. Hence, the prosecution was right in classifying the cases as grievous hurt," he said.

In finding that the prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, the judge pronounced Yim’s guilt.

Yim was seen crying and later hugging her husband Hii Ik Ting, 42, her children and relatives.

A former air stewardess and a mother of four, Yim was sentenced after Akhtar heard mitigation from her lawyers.

Counsel Jagjit Singh who was assisted by counsel Akbardin Abdul Kader told the court he could not submit that his client was remorseful.

“A staunch Christian, she still believes she is innocent and I too feel the same way,” the lawyer said.

‘Nightmarish experience’

DPP Raja Rozela Raja Toran, in pressing for a deterrent sentence, said Nirmala had come to Malaysia to find a decent job but had returned emotionally scarred to Indonesia.

"Although the physical injuries may have healed, she will always be haunted by her nightmarish experience while working here," she said.

Raja Rozela said the injuries inflicted on Nirmala were done not using ordinary items, but a hot iron and hot water, while the injuries were to her whole body.

"It is unbelievable that one woman would do that to another who is helpless. The extent of Nirmala’s injuries showed the inhumane nature of the perpetrator," the DPP said.

She also applied under section 426 of the Criminal Procedure Code for an order to compel Yim to pay compensation.

Jagjit objected, pointing out that Nirmala had received donations in cash and kind from Malaysia.

"She is already a billionaire in Indonesia. Furthermore, my client is also facing a civil suit filed by Nirmala and the Indonesian government.”

Akhtar said he did not want to hear a defence application for stay of execution today, after Raja Rozela raised an objection.

"You have to file a written notice of appeal and after you do that, I will set a date for the hearing," said the judge.

Akbardin then said he wanted to submit an oral application, as he intended to file a written application later today.

However, the judge would not allow it, assuring, “I will set the earliest date available".

Legal history

Outside the court, Jagjit expressed unhappiness with the sentence, saying he felt it to be too harsh.

"This sentence is more severe than for culpable homicide. However, we have to respect the court’s decision," he said, adding a notice of appeal would be filed today.

The verdict comes after 110 days of proceedings held over four and a half years.

Yim was charged with four counts of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the Indonesian, then 19, with a hot iron twice on a day in January and in April 2004, with using hot water on a day in March 2004, and using a metal cup at about 3pm on May 17, 2004.

The offences were committed at Yim’s upmarket Villa Putera condominium in Jalan Tun Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.

The first three offences were under section 326 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years’ jail, and a fine or whipping. The fourth charge under section 325 carries a maximum seven years jail and fine.

This case created legal history when then DPP Stanley Augustin said this was the first time that an individual had been charged with three counts under Section 326 of the Penal Code for offences against the same victim.

Nirmala’s case created an uproar among Malaysians and Indonesians, after a security guard discovered her plight.

It made headlines in Malaysia, with photographs of her severe injuries splashed on the front pages of newspapers when her plight was revealed in 2004.

Bonat said that Yim abused her every day of the five months she spent in the family’s home, until her breasts and back were covered with burns, and her face was swollen by regular beatings.

In Indonesia, it sparked protests in front of the Malaysian embassy with demonstrators calling for better treatment for domestic helpers.