Domestic helper rescued in Taiping over 'forced labour'

 

A domestic helper suspected of being a victim of forced labour was rescued from her employer's house in Taiping, Perak, in a joint operation on Friday led by the Labour Department.

Human Resources Ministry in a statement today said the operation was launched following two-day surveillance based on initial information from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Also involved in the dawn operation were officers from Perak Labour Department in cooperation with Taiping district police and the anti-human trafficking council task force members.

"The victim, a 36-year-old Indonesian woman, was brought into Malaysia by an agent who promised her work as a domestic helper and RM1,000 salary.

"The victim was asked to pay three months salary as a 'service charge' for the agent after she started work," said the ministry.

According to the statement, the victim started work in December 2017.

Initial investigations revealed indicators of forced labour and her employer was suspected of committing an offence under the Anti-Human Trafficking and Anti-Smuggling of Migrant Act 2007.

The statement made no mention of actions against the employer.

Malaysiakini understands no arrest was made during the operations.

When contacted, a Labour Department source from Putrajaya confirmed that the employer would be summoned to its Perak office next week to record a statement as part of its ongoing probe.

The victim's employer was accused of taking advantage of her undocumented status, using it as a threat to force her into doing housework under physical and mental pressure.

The ministry also said the victim was slapped by her employer if the latter was unsatisfied with her work.

"Further, the victim was not given food if she expressed intentions to return home or to stop work.

"In fact, her salary was often withheld and it happened before that money already paid to her was taken back," it added.

The ministry said the victim remains in a traumatised state and now placed at a safe house after being granted a 21 days interim protection order by the Taiping Magistrates' Court.

Forced labour has been identified as the predominant form of crime linked to Malaysia's downgrade to Tier 3, the worst tier, in the US State Department's annual report on human trafficking. 

Indicators of forced labour were found not only in the manufacturing and plantation sector but also among women employed in Malaysian households.

Last month, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said Malaysia and Indonesia will resume discussions towards signing a memorandum of understanding on recruitment and placement of domestic helpers here, a bilateral process pending since the terms of the current agreement expired in 2016.  - Mkini