Police officers escorting the Indonesian woman to identify her son’s body. Photo: The Star
The employment agent arrested for suspicion of being the head of a syndicate herding and sexually abusing 29 undocumented foreign maids has told police he separated one of the maids under his employ from her baby because he was afraid she would infect the child with her Hepatitis B.
A spokesperson for the Shah Alam police headquarters told The Star Online that the agent, in his 40s, hd told police that he was worried that the maid’s disease might affect the six-month old baby’s health, prompting him to separate them.
The suspect has also been accused of using the maids under his care as sex slaves, and locking them up under harsh conditions – all accusations he has refuted.
“He claimed that he did not lock up the women. There were a few instances in which they could have escaped,” the police spokesperson said.
“However, the women did not dare escape because they had overstayed their visit in the country and did not have valid documents to be here,” the spokesman added.
On Wednesday, Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) arrested the agent and remanded him for a week for allegedly dumping the body of the baby near the Genting Highlands Resort. Police also arrested the agent’s wife, a 33-year old Indonesian national.
The arrests led to the discovery of a syndicate that has been holding foreign maids believed to be sexually abused and forced to work without pay.
Police now have 13 of the foreign maids in their custody, including the mother of the deceased baby. They will be transferred to the Immigration Department as they have overstayed in Malaysia. Police are trying to locate the other foreign maids said to have been under the syndicate’s payroll.
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