A Malaysian couple were charged yesterday with the murder of their Cambodian maid, who police suspect may have died of prolonged starvation.
The alleged abuse case of Mey Sichan, who would have turned 24 in September, is one of many that have caused both Cambodia and Indonesia to suspend sending maids to Malaysia.
Hardware store owners Soh Chew Tong, 43, and his wife Chin Chui Ling, 40, were charged in a district court in northern Penang State over their maid’s murder, government lawyer Nurdeenie Abdul Rashid said.
Murder convictions carry a mandatory death penalty by hanging. No plea was recorded, pending submission of a post-mortem report. The next court date is on June 7, Nurdeenie said.
Mey Sichan was found dead by paramedics called by her employers on March 31.
When found, she weighed 26kg. She also had bruises on her body.
Police said she died from acute gastritis and ulcers likely due to lack of food over a long period. The maid had been working for the family for eight months.
In October last year, Cambodia imposed a temporary ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia, heavily dependent on those from poorer regional countries to fill the positions shunned by locals.
The surprise move came after activists highlighted dozens of cases of sexual abuse, overwork and exploitation among the estimated 50,000 Cambodian women employed as domestic helpers in Malaysia.
Reports of abuse in Malaysia have frequently surfaced in recent years and also led Indonesia to stop sending domestic helpers to the country in 2009, prompting a rise in demand for Cambodians.
Indonesian maids are expected to arrive in Malaysia again from later this month, according to an Indonesian embassy official, after Malaysia pledged to better protect them, including granting them one day day a week.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was