Maid Dies after Months of Abuse, Sleeping Outdoors Beside Employers’ Dog

A domestic helper who was rescued last Saturday but died the following day had been sleeping outdoors for months beside her employers’ dog, said neighbors interviewed by police investigating the case but her employers claimed she had chosen to do so on her own volition and had only started doing it for a month.

The Indonesian domestic worker was identified as Adelina Lisao, 26. She worked for a family at Taman Kota Permai, Bukit Mertajam in Penang, Malaysia but they had repeatedly abused her.

When she was rescued last Saturday after concerned neighbors reported to the police, she was found with several wounds and bruises on her body, aside from the fact that she was severely malnourished and looked generally unhealthy.

Photo credit: Steven Sim’s office via Malay Mail Online

A 36-year-old woman and her 39-year-old brother had been charged with murder, especially because there were infected wounds on her hands and legs as well as injuries on her head and face.

But the woman claims Adelina had injured herself while cleaning the kitchen which she had soiled.

“The maid accidentally spilt the chemical on her own legs and arms, and caused a chemical burn,” she claimed.

Photo credit: The Australian

“The employer’s daughter said that they bought iodine and medicine for the maid to apply on her wound. She also claimed that the maid did not stop agitating her wound and caused the wound to worsen,” said staff from Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim’s office handling the case.

“She reiterated that they did not mistreat the maid, but she admitted that she had previously slapped the maid at least once or twice.”

Migrant rights group Tenaganita have stepped in to help monitor the case. Tenaganita volunteer Sally Alexander revealed they are demanding a post mortem to determine Adelina’s exact cause of death.

Deputy Consul General Osrinikita Zubhana said they had a difficult time trying to find the Indonesian worker’s family due to lack of personal documents but after several agencies cooperated and the story had gone viral, Adelina’s family had been reached.

The Consul General’s office has ordered that the post-mortem process be expedited so they can send Adelina’s body to her family in Indonesia.