26kg maid may have been starved to death

[Ganesha]

Thursday, Apr 05, 2012
NST

Cambodian maid Mey Sichan, whose body was found at her employer's hardware shop in Bukit Tengah on Saturday, may have been starved for a month before she died.

State police chief Datuk Ayub Yaakob said police detained three local workers at the hardware shop yesterday to facilitate investigations.

He said police believe the workers -- two women and a man -- can shed more light into the alleged abuses by the victim's employers, which he described as inhumane.

Ayub said police have informed the Royal Cambodian embassy of Sichan's death and were making arrangements to send her body home.

He said a post-mortem revealed that the 24-year-old maid had died from acute gastritis and ulcers which were caused by severe starvation over a long period of time.

Ayub said Sichan's weight had dropped to 26kg when her body was found, way below the weight of a normal adult.

The deceased also had bruises and cuts all over her body.

It was reported that Sichan had been working as a maid for the couple for eight months and had been taking care of her employer's mother.

Her employer were living on the upper-floor of the three-storey shophouse.

A check at the premises yesterday showed that it was closed.

 

[Ganesha]

Malaysia couple charged with Cambodia maid murder

AFP
Friday, Apr 13, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian couple were charged Friday with the murder of their Cambodian maid, who police suspect may have died of prolonged starvation.

The alleged abuse case of Mey Sichan, who would have turned 24 in September, is one of many that have caused both Cambodia and Indonesia to suspend sending maids to Malaysia.

Hardware store owners Soh Chew Tong, 43, and his wife Chin Chui Ling, 40, were charged in a district court in northern Penang state over their maid's murder, government lawyer Nurdeenie Abdul Rashid said.

Murder convictions carry the mandatory death penalty by hanging. No plea was recorded, pending submission of a post-mortem report. The next court date is June 7, Nurdeenie said.

Mey Sichan was found dead by paramedics called by her employers on March 31. When found, she weighed 26 kilogrammes (57 pounds). She also had bruises on her body.

Police said she died from acute gastritis and ulcers likely due to lack of food over a long period. The maid had been working for the family for eight months.

In October, Cambodia imposed a temporary ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia, heavily dependent on those from poorer regional countries to fill the positions shunned by locals.

The surprise move came after activists highlighted dozens of cases of sexual abuse, overwork and exploitation among the estimated 50,000 Cambodian women employed as domestic helpers in Malaysia.

Reports of abuse in Malaysia have frequently surfaced in recent years and also led Indonesia to stop sending domestic helpers to the country in 2009, prompting a rise in demand for Cambodians.

Indonesian maids are expected to arrive in Malaysia again from later this month, according to an Indonesian embassy official, after Malaysia pledged to better protect them, including granting them one off-day per week.