MAKKAH, 2 June 2008 — The Prosecution and Investigation Board in Makkah is investigating a Saudi woman who tortured her Indonesian maid and then abandoned her in an empty area in the outskirts of the holy city after having her bound, gagged and blindfolded.
“Ameena Ayas, 22, was found by local people bound and gagged at a vacant plot in the Kaakiah district on May 26. The Red Crescent was called and she was taken to Al-Noor Specialist Hospital for treatment. Police are investigating the case,” said Abdul Mohsen Al-Mayman, spokesman for Makkah police.
Speaking to Arab News from her hospital bed, Ayas said she had come to the Kingdom just a few months ago. “In the beginning, my employer behaved in a very nice manner. Everything changed a few weeks later. She would beat me for even small mistakes. I also had problems in understanding the language. I would cry for help, but no one would help me. When my miseries became intolerable, I decided to run away. But she caught me in the attempt,” Ayas said.
She added that her employer gradually became more violent. “At first the lady used to beat me with her hands and sticks. She then started to strike me with an iron rod. The most horrible thing she did to me was burning my upper arms and back with heated tongs and pouring Clorox over the wounds,” she said.
Ayas said she could not work nor sleep because of severe pain, and that last Monday, her employer told her she was taking her to a doctor.
Once inside the car, Ayas had her hands tied from behind. She was blindfolded and gagged, and abandoned in an empty plot of land.
She was then seen by some passersby who called the Red Crescent.
Dr. Hatem Al-Amri, who is treating the maid at Al-Noor Hospital, said the young woman had cuts on her head and bruises on her neck, face and back. “She also had suffered burns on her upper arms and forearms, and lash marks on her chest in addition to some slight fractures. She’s stable now,” Al-Amri said.
Al-Mayman said the Kaakiah police found the maid’s employer and have handed her to the investigations board.
According to a psychiatrist at the King Abdul Aziz Hospital, cruel behavior is often observed in sadistic people who enjoy inflicting pain on others by resorting to various forms of torture.
