The district court in Bali’s Gianyar yesterday sentenced Desak Made Wiratningsih to six years in prison for abuse against a domestic worker under her employment, in which she had poured boiling water on the victim as a form of punishment.
“Defendant Desak Made Wiratningsih has been proven guilty of physical violence in domestic space, which has caused severe injuries to the victim. [We] sentence her to six years in prison,” presiding judge Ida Ayu Sri Adriyanthi AW said yesterday, as quoted by Detik.
Authorities were alerted to the case earlier this year in May when a 21-year-old domestic worker from Java, who has now been identified as Eka Febriyanti, filed a police report. Then, she alleged that her employer had poured boiling water over her as a form of punishment.
“It was a big pan full of water, and it happened twice. From the top of my head, all the way to my back, my arms, legs, everything,” Eka said then, explaining that the incident had actually occurred the week before and that she did not receive any kind of treatment for her injuries.
At first, police arrested three suspects for their alleged involvement in the abuse, including Eka’s step-sister. It was later found that the step-sister, who has been identified as Santi Yuni Astutik, was also a victim at the house.
The other suspect had been the house’s security guard, identified as I Kadek Erick Diantara Putra, who had also poured hot water onto Eka. He has been sentenced to five years in prison for his crime.
In addition, the case also revealed that neither Eka nor Santi has been paid for their work since June of last year. The Gianyar District Court yesterday also instructed Desak to pay them each IDR21 million (US$1,493) in restitution.
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