RIYADH, 10 April 2005 — Another Indonesian guest worker is battling to stay alive after being subjected to sadistic tortures and rape by her sponsor.
Twenty-five-year-old Suniati Binti Nibaran Sujari is in intensive care with burns to more than half of her body and brutal injuries to her genitals as her life hangs in the balance.
The woman, who worked as maid, was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Riyadh Medical Complex (Shumaysi Hospital) on Thursday morning. Her employer has been detained and is being questioned by police about allegations of sexual harassment and physical torture.
This is the second case of inhuman torture of an Indonesian maid that has surfaced within the last three weeks. Nasser Al-Dandani, the Saudi lawyer who represents the Indonesian Embassy in this case, confirmed the reports of the torture of Suniati but refused to divulge details of the case.
“I don’t want to influence the investigation currently being carried out in this equally tragic case after the much-publicized case of Nour Miyati, who is currently recovering in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh.”
However, Arif Suyoko, a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy, gave details of the case.
“Suniati has suffered extensive burn injuries on her face, her hands, legs and all across her abdomen and genitals. She could only nod her head and blink her eyes when the name of her employer as culprit was mentioned to her in the hospital,” said Suyoko, referring to her deteriorating condition at the ICU. She is unable to swallow solid foods because of severe burns on her chest.
Hospital officials did not pick up the phones despite several calls made by Arab News yesterday. But, a source at the hospital, on condition of anonymity, said Suniati is in a critical condition. The source, however, refused to comment on her chances for survival.
“Suniati probably has been raped besides being tortured by her sponsor and his family members,” Suyoko said. “On different parts of her body, there are deep burn injuries and scars, while the skin has been badly damaged.”
He said the embassy appreciated the cooperation extended by Saudi officials in the two cases. It was not immediately known how long Suniati worked for the family. She hails from West Java in Indonesia. Embassy officials also expressed concern that cases of sadistic torture and brutal beatings of housemaids appear to be increasing.
“There is a need to streamline the whole process of maid deployment,” said another diplomat, adding that Jakarta’s ban on deployment of maids in Saudi Arabia continues. “A joint meeting of senior Indonesian officials from the Ministries of Labor, Law, certain human rights organizations and ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Jordan is likely to be convened in Jakarta this month to make an assessment of the situation and review the ban on maids.”
Saudi Arabia currently is home to more than 600,000 Indonesian women workers — mainly maids. The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh has been receiving nearly 10 complaints every day from maids, while the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah has been handling some five to seven complaints a day.
Several Indonesian maids committed suicide during the last 18 months. More than 5,000 maids are currently stranded in Riyadh alone awaiting deportation.
