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Wilfrida escapes death penalty in Malaysia
Wilfrida Soik
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Wilfrida Soik. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama
The Kota Bharu High Court in Malaysia ruled on Monday to acquit Indonesian migrant worker Wilfrida Soik of murder charges, sparing her from the death penalty.
Wilfrida was charged under the Malaysian Penal Code, which carries a death sentence upon conviction; but the court ruled on Monday that she was mentally unstable when the incident took place, therefore, found her not guilty.
The court ordered the native of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to be sent to a Malaysian hospital for psychiatric care.
Human rights activists and politicians, who have given legal assistance to Wilfrida and monitored the legal proceedings over the past four years, praised the ruling.
'The court's verdict is fair because the murder was an act of self defense, which was to protect herself from torture committed by her employer,' Migrant Care, an NGO that promotes the rights of migrant workers, said in a statement.
Migrant Care said Wilfrida should have been acquitted because she was underage when the crime took place.
'We have always believed that Wilfrida must be freed because she was under age when the incident happened. She is a victim of human trafficking,' it said.
An investigation by Migrant Care had earlier revealed that Wilfrida's credentials had been falsified ' her birth year had been changed from 1993 to 1989 ' in order to allow her to get work.
The investigation also showed that Wilfrida was only 17 years old when she entered Malaysia on falsified documents, which, thus, would make her eligible for protection under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids capital punishment for minors, a convention that both Indonesia and Malaysia are signatories of.
The Kota Bharu High Court was expected to announce its verdict in October last year but adjourned it in order to get more details from the investigation, ordering Wilfrida to undergo a bone examination to determine her age.
In its October ruling, the court also ordered Wilfrida to undergo a psychiatric evaluation conducted by a team of experts endorsed by the prosecutors and Wilfrida's attorney to confirm whether she was suffering from a major depressive disorder.
The campaign to spare Wilfrida from the death sentence also brought together various groups, including members of the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and the House of Representatives (DPR); the Catholic Church in Belu; interfaith communities; singer and activist Melanie Subono. Netizens also showed their support through the #SaveWilfrida petition on Change.org, which had more than 13,000 signatures, making it one of the most popular petitions put up on the popular website.
The case had also drawn the attention from chief patron of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto, who attended some of Wilfrida's hearings and hired prominent Malaysian lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to defend her.
Although Wilfrida will now be admitted to hospital, the prosecutors may choose to appeal the verdict.
