T

he body of Yufrinda Selan, 19, who had been employed as a domestic worker in Malaysia, has been taken to her hometown in Tupan village, Timor Tengah Selatan regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), for burial.

Yufrinda was reported to have hanged herself in a room in her employer’s house in Malaysia. “Her body has been taken by her family to their hometown,” said Tato Tirang, head of the NTT Indonesian Workers Protection and Recruitment Agency (BP3TKI) on Friday.

Tato said Yufrinda’s demise added to the number of Indonesian migrant workers from the province who had died in Malaysia. As of Friday, 24 Indonesian migrant workers from NTT had died in Malaysia.

“The victim worked in Malaysia legally so she was insured by the workers recruitment agency. But, we must find out how she died. She was reported to have committed suicide but is that true or were there any other causes?” he added.

Tito said his office always insisted that the Indonesian Workers Recruitment Agency (PJTKI) in NTT insure workers being sent abroad. There was also a need to train the workers properly before sending them abroad, he said.

Yufrinda’s father Metusalak Selan said he had no idea that his daughter had been working in Malaysia since September 2015. Apparently, neither Yufrinda nor the company that recruited her had never informed Metusalak about her employment overseas.

“She left home in Sept. 2, 2015. We tried to track her through Kupang, but to no avail. We did not report it to the police thinking that she was working outside East Nusa Tenggara,” he added.

Metusalak acknowledged he got the information about his daughter’s death on Tuesday from an official with the BP3TKI who asked him to pick up her body at El Tari Airport on Thursday.

Although Yufrinda hailed from Timor Tengah Selatan regency, all of the legal documents for her departure to Malaysia were processed in Kupang regency.

Because of this document irregularity, he said, his family had reported the case to the Batu Putih Police in Timor Tengah Selatan.

In her identity card and passport, Yufrinda Selan’s name was recorded as Merlinda Sapai, aged 22 years old. She was recorded as coming from Camplong, Fatuleu district in Kupang.

“My daughter’s correct name was Yufrinda Selan and she was 19 years old. She came from Tepas, Tupan village, Batu Putih district in Timor Tengah Selatan. But, they changed her name to Merlinda Sapai,” he added.

East Nusa Tenggara Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Jules Abast said the provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Widiyo Sunaryo had ordered an investigation into possible human trafficking.

“This case has been taken over by the Timor Tengah Selatan Police who will eventually investigate any document forgery network,” he said.