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Kenshin Uesugi
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Maid abuser denies torture charges
emirates247
Published Dec 25 2010
A Saudi Arabian woman who was reported to have severely torturing her Indonesian housemaid has denied charges, saying the maid had tortured herself because she was 'not normal'.
The 53-year-old widow from Madina told a court this week that she had not attacked or tortured Sumiati Salan Mustapa, 23, who was admitted to hospital last month with severe injuries to her head and body.
"My client has denied all charges of torturing her housemaid.
The maid has hurt herself and we are planning to demand damages from authorities for detaining my client for more than one month at the female prison," the Saudi woman’s lawyer, Ahmed Al Rashid, told the Arabic language daily Okaz.
He said the maid is apparently suffering from mental problems and that he would reject any medical reports issued outside the Kingdom proving otherwise.
Sumiati Salan Mustapa before and after she was tortured
Al Rashid said he would again ask the judge to release his client on bail when earnings on the maid’s case resume on Tuesday.
Saudi newspapers said last month the unnamed employer used a hot iron to torture the Sumiati, who had a surgery at hospital in Madina to repair damaged scalp and mouth.
She has been discharged from hospital but requires further physical and psychological treatment.
Sumiati’s case has sparked public and official furor in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the largest supplier of housemaids to the Gulf Kingdom.
The incident has prompted calls in Indonesia to stop sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia, where nearly two million maids work.
