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Abused Indonesian maid in M'sia unable to nurse babies due to injuries
Nirmala Bonat, an Indonesian maid who was abused here, could not breastfeed her two sons due to injuries inflicted by her then employer, the Malaysian high court heard
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N
irmala Bonat, an Indonesian maid who was abused here, could not breastfeed her two sons due to injuries inflicted by her then employer, the Malaysian high court heard.
'I have two sons aged four and one but I could not breastfeed my children when they were babies due to the injuries inflicted by (then employer Yim Pek Ha) on my breasts,' Nirmala, 29, said.
She was testifying in a civil suit filed against Yim and her husband Hii Ik Tiing for damages, claiming that she suffered pain, humiliation, physical and mental anguish while working for them for eight months.
Nirmala said she was claiming for special damages for medical expenses, loss of income, transportation costs and other basic expenditure.
Questioned by her lawyer M. Kavimani, she said she was tortured by Yim.
Yim was charged with four counts of causing grievous hurt to Nirmala at her apartment in Villa Putera in Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, in January, March and April 2004.
She was found guilty and sentenced to 18 years' jail by the Sessions Court on three counts of causing grievous hurt to Nirmala with a hot iron and hot water.
However, she was acquitted on the fourth charge of causing hurt to the maid with a metal cup.
Yim appealed to the High Court, which reduced her jail term to 12 years.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision and she is now in the Kajang women's prison.
Questioned by Kavimani, Nirmala said Yim also kept a diary on damages to clothes, cups, plates, shoes and other items that the maid was said to have caused.
The 'losses' were estimated at 12,490 ringgit (US$3,743).
Nirmala said she had put her signature down in the diary, saying that some of the acts were accidental.
However, when asked by the couple's lead counsel Chan Vy Sing, Nirmala agreed that the notes were made to remind her to be more careful while working.
Nirmala also acknowledged that Yim had never taken any money from her for damaging those items.
However, Nirmala disagreed with Chan's suggestion that she was continuously making a false statement in order to claim for damages.
She also denied that the injuries were self-inflicted.
She disagreed with Chan's suggestion that she did not run away from Yim's house and did not ask for help from people who had visited the couple or from the maid agency because she was not tortured.
The hearing before Judicial Commissioner Siti Khadijah S. Hassan Badjenid continues on Tuesday.
In her civil suit filed on Jan 2010, Nirmala named former boutique manager Yim, 46, and her husband Hii, 48, as defendants.
Nirmala claimed that Hii neglected to ensure that she worked in a safe environment and that he did not stop his wife from injuring her. (***)
