Maids Face Death Penalty

By Wahyu Susilo

Five Indonesian domestic workers face possible death sentences in Singapore.

Many Indonesian migrant workers die needless deaths. Few take heed of the hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrant women who suffer violence and rape. At present five Indonesian migrant workers are under threat of death sentences in Singapore. One of these is only 16 years of age.

Domestic workers abroad face the three Ds" Dirty, Dangerous, Difficult work) without legal recognition. Maltreatment by employers causes conflict between workers and bosses. When they are accused of murdering their employers, it is usually because of the extremely bad treatment. Sundarti Suprianto, on eof the six currently facing the death penalty, told her lawyer that her employer had gone too far. The employer had six different domestic workers in the space of six months. Sundarti said that when her employer forced her to have noodles for three days that had gone off, and she complained and asked for appropriate, healthy food, the employer's answer was 'You can eat my child's shit!!'

The Singaporean and Indonesian governments have made no moves to regulate the appalling conditions domestic workers face, but Migrant CARE and INFID (International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development) are campaigning for the six women and a close look at the situation of these workers.

(Inside Indonesia. no 79, July-September 2004: pp27-8)