Indonesian migrant worker murdered in Malaysia

An Indonesian migrant worker, Syamsul Rijal, from Bulukumba regency in South Sulawesi has been reportedly murdered in Malaysia while on a three-day vacation.

Rijal’s wife Santi said on Wednesday that she had learned of 25-year-old Rijal’s death from the wife of Sabri, who worked at the same oil palm plantation as Rijal in Sarawak, Malaysia. Rijal had been at the plantation for five months.

Santi said Rijal’s body was found on the roadside.

“Initially, we heard that Rijal died in an accident. But Malaysian police contacted us several days later, saying that Rijal was murdered because doctors at a hospital found a stab wound in the back of Rijal’s neck,” said a distraught Santi, as quoted by kompas.com.

Santi, who has a 2-year-old child to Rijal, said that her husband was killed on June 1 but his body had not yet been sent home.

She also said she had not reported Rijal’s death to the local administration because of her lack of knowledge about the correct procedures. (png/mtq)