Housewife, accused of torturing maid, gets term cut to 3 months

dubai — A housewife, accused of torturing her maid repeatedly over a certain period of time, has had her one-year jail sentence commuted to three months by the Court of Appeals.

The 33-year-old Jordanian woman was sentenced to one year in jail to be followed by deportation by the Court of First Instance in February. She was found guilty of causing hearing loss to her former maid from Indonesia, by pushing scissors in her left ear. She was also accused of using other methods to torture the victim — ironing her body and pouring hot water on her.

She earlier denied an aggravated physical assault charge and appealed the verdict. The appellate court has now reduced the primary ruling and reversed the deportation order. No immediate reason behind the new sentence

She would bang my head against the wall, pull my hair and pour boiling water on my body. I lost the hearing sense in the left ear after the defendant stuck scissors inside it.”

Maid, complainant

was made available.

The housewife admitted in the investigation that she would lock up the maid in her room at night or when she leaves the house with her husband because she did not trust her to be alone around her children and for fear she would abscond.

She also confessed before the investigators that she did not give her salary from June 2015 and up to March 2016. The 28-year-old maid said that since she began working for her former sponsor’s wife about three years earlier, the latter would beat her up for any mistake.

She ran away and complained to her country’s consulate officials that the housewife would use sharp tools like knives, scissors and utensils to hit her. “She would bang my head against the wall, pull my hair and pour boiling water on my body. I lost the hearing sense in the left ear after the defendant stuck scissors inside it,” the maid said.

She could not escape to seek help because her employer’s wife would lock her up inside her room when she leaves the house.

A PRO at the Indonesian consulate said they took the maid to hospital and then filed a complaint at Jebel Ali police station after she informed them she had not received her monthly salaries. The forensic report showed the maid’s ear injury resulted from being hit with scissors. Marks on her face, head, neck, abdomen and back showed she was hit with sharp tools like scissors and knife and that hot liquids were poured on her. Other marks on her body indicated she was burned by ironing. The report confirmed the maid was tortured over a certain period of time while she was deprived of her freedom.

The ruling may still be challenged at the Court of Cassation.

mary@khaleejtimes.com