23 nails in body of tortured maid

By MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: Doctors in Sri Lanka have found 23 nails in the body of a tortured housemaid who returned to Colombo from Riyadh, Sri Lankan Embassy sources told Arab News on Tuesday.

“We have received this complaint from the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, who said the maid has been allegedly tortured by her sponsor,” a senior diplomat from the Sri Lankan mission in Riyadh told Arab News. “We are looking for the sponsor. We were able to track down the Saudi recruitment agent in Riyadh and we will summon the sponsor to discuss this issue,” the official said.

Doctors at the Kamburipitya Base Hospital in the Matara district, 140 km from Colombo, said the nails had been hammered into the maid’s body. Dr. Kamal Weeratunge, who was treating the maid, claimed the nails had been heated up before they punctured her skin.

On Sri Lankan television channel Newsfirst Sirasa, the maid showed the marks where the nails had gone through. The maid, identified as 50-year-old Ariyawathie, said that there were too many people to serve in the house where she worked.

“I had to work continuously since I had to do the chores of all the occupants and when I wanted to take rest due to tiredness, they inserted the nail in my body as a punishment,” she said.

“I had to work from dawn to dusk. I hardly slept. They beat me and threatened to kill me and hide my body.” She added that she arranged her travel documents to return home on her own expense. “They were really devils with no mercy at all,” she said.

According to records at the Sri Lankan Embassy, the maid came to the Kingdom on March 25. The diplomat said that the sponsor had bypassed the mission and made his own arrangements to send the woman home. “We can only deal with cases that come up before the mission,” he said. However, he added that the mission would take action following the complaint submitted to the embassy from Colombo.

The maid had come to Saudi Arabia after being registered at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).

SLBFE chairman Kingsley Ranawake said that a formal inquiry would be held with the concerned maid and appropriate action taken.

Comments

MOHAMMED

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This is the behavior of the Saudis of the so called Kingdom of Humanity. May Allah help her find the sponsor and have him or her punished as severely as the poor maid was tortured.

MOHAMED KHAN

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The above Sponsor's are worst than ANIMALS. At least Animlals take care of their own. These people are NEITHER MUSLIMS or Human Being's.

FIRAS

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I hope these animals get treated the same way by poor asian maids. Then only they'll come to know how it feels.Don't these people have fear of Allah? When will the authorities wake up? They should prosecute the sponsor irrespective of his power and status in Saudi.However, I (we) already know nothing will happen and the sponsor will continue torturing some other maid.

RIAZ MURTAZA

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" What a shame for Saudis"

ATHULA

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I wonder whether animals are living in saudi arabia. Once woman was killed, Next, then a woman was burnt and raped. These things could only be heard from arabian, gulf countries. Sri Lankan women are also working in Cyprus, israel...etc, but we do not hear such criminal incidents against human beings in such nature. I think, arabs lag behind and they are not civilized. We should first teach them how to behave. Money does not make a person complete and humane. Specially we should be kind to a foreigner, as he is a guest in the country, apart from that he is alone and helpless in a foreign country. I met arabs in Europe, as I was there. They forget every thing if they see a woman. They are so greedy, as if they have not seen a women in their life.Once they are in their home lands they act another character. I hope at least thing time, the criminal will be brought behind bars. Perhaps police will be bribed and case will be closed. These things are repeating. where is the police? or police is collaborating with cirminals. Ask, them to compensate the pain for the women, loss income, and loss hope of the familiy members.
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