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Jakarta Police case expose on Monday suggested that a legislator accused of abusing his domestic worker Topiah had also been abusing two other domestic workers.

On Sept. 30, Toipah reported House of Representatives member Fanny Afriansyah, known as Ivan Haz, and his wife Amna Susilowati to the Jakarta Police for abuse.

The force'€™s criminal detective director Sr. Comr. Khrisna Murti said on Monday that the police had questioned seven witnesses, including two more of Ivan'€™s maids, who said that, like Topiah, they had suffered abuse at the hands of their employers.

Khrisna added that after the result of the case expose corroborated the abuse, the police would summon Ivan and his wife after receiving permission from President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo in accordance with Legislative Institution Law No. 17/2014, which stipulates that the police must receive presidential permission before summoning a member of the House.

Meanwhile, Topiah'€™s legal team from the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women'€™s Association for Justice (LBH APIK) and the National Network for Domestic Worker Advocacy (Jala PRT) separately held a press conference to dispute the police'€™s claims regarding the requirement for approval from the President.

According to LBH APIK'€™s Uliarta Pangaribuan, based on Article 245, Paragraph 3C of the same law, known as the MD3 Law, presidential approval is not the main requirement in dealing with special crimes like the alleged abuse of Toipah, meaning the police can proceed without permission from the President.

The organizations also called on the government to expedite efforts to protect domestic workers through domestic worker protection bills, and urged the House'€™s ethics committee to investigate and impose sanctions against Ivan.

Toipah claims that her employers physically abused her, causing a gash on the head and bruises on the back. Her ear was also so injured and swollen that it needed stitches, she alleges.

In addition, Toipah told police that the alleged abusers gave her only one meal per day and had not paid her salary of Rp 2.2 million (US$149) for two months. They also kept the cell phones and ID cards of her and two other maids, preventing them from communicating with others.

Ivan, a member of the United Development Party (PPP), denied the accusations on Friday, alleging that Topiah was careless and had placed his child in danger, causing frequent distress to his wife.

He added that last Wednesday, Toipah, in apparent fear of Amna, had tried to escape by climbing a fence, but had fallen and injured herself.