(antaranews.com)

An Indonesian migrant working in Malaysia, Walfrida Soik from East Nusa Tenggara, has narrowly avoided the death sentence.

The Kota Bharu High Court in Malaysia ruled on Tuesday to acquit Walfrida of murder charges, sparing her from the death penalty, because she suffers from a mental illness.

The court ordered Walfrida to be treated at Permai Johor Bharu Mental Hospital until she was deemed eligible for a complete pardon from the Sultan of Kelantan.

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, Herman Prayitno, welcomed the verdict and lauded the involvement of different parties that assisted with Walfrida'€™s defense.

To speed up the legal process, Herman said that he would send a request for remission to the Sultan of Kelantan.

'€œThis case is a reminder to us of the importance of monitoring the practice of sending illegal migrant workers [overseas],'€ Herman said in a press release, as quoted by tribunnew.com on Tuesday.

Walfrida faced the death penalty for murdering her employer'€™s relative in December 2010.

She was an undocumented migrant worker as she was still underage when she was sent to Malaysia. (ika)(++++)