JEDDAH: The woman accused of torturing an Indonesian maid has been charged and sent to the General Prison in Madina by the Investigation and Prosecution Bureau (IPB), according to a source. Sources close to the IPB said the Saudi woman, who is in her fifties, allegedly said she physically assaulted the young 23-year-old maid, Sumiati BT Salan Mustapa, because she was “reckless” in handling her job. The woman has allegedly admitted she used an electric iron to burn the maid, and also treated her in an inhumane manner. In her testimony, the maid reportedly said she was abused from the day she arrived in Madina three months ago because she was accused of not doing her job properly. Meanwhile, a women's team led by Sharf Al-Grafy visited the maid at King Fahd Hospital in Madina as part of preparations to submit a comprehensive report on her condition to Dr. Muhammad Shadeed Al-Aoufi, the General Supervisor of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Madina. Sultan Bin Dhahim, Head of the Lawyers' Committee in Madina, said the crime committed against the maid includes physical violence and premeditation to commit physical assault. He said this was an exceptional case in Saudi Arabia. He said the criminal justice system does not differentiate between a Saudi and a non-Saudi. This could be seen by the charges against the woman suspect. The Saudi woman was sent to prison because the crime is a felony which necessitates imprisonment. The case has received worldwide media coverage and the Indonesian authorities are currently preparing to take legal action against the perpetrators. The housemaid is currently in hospital recovering from severe burns all over her body. The Saudi woman's son reportedly told the police his mother was the culprit. He also said that his mother tried to deceive the police by saying Mustapa had tried to commit suicide. On the basis of her son's testimony the Investigation and Prosecution Bureau arrested the woman. The story began when Mustapa, who had come to the Kingdom to work for SR800 per month, was taken to a private hospital in Madina on Nov. 1. Personnel there said her injuries were too severe for them to treat and she was directed to King Fahd Hospital. Her body was burned on many places, both legs were almost motionless, some parts of her skin on her head were removed and there were marks of old wounds on her body including skin loss on her lips and head, a fractured middle finger and a cut near an eye. A physician from King Fahd Hospital said Mustapa “was wounded from head to toe when she was admitted and was unconscious”. The maid will recover, the physician said, but will have to undergo plastic surgery.
