According to Malaysiakini, Home-maker Yim Pek Ha was found guilty today of grievously hurting domestic helper Nirmala Bonat and sentenced to 18 years in jail.
Usually, when much publicized cases go to court, I am always torn between believing, wanting to believe and don’t know who to believe. Older generation folks may remember the S. Karthigesu case where he was accused of murdering his sister-in-law, Jean Pereira. I think I was in my late teens or early twenties when the trial proceedings of this case was in the paper everyday. Reading them can make one go crazy because we do not know who to believe. Yet, one has that wickedness of wanting to know the gossips like how Karthigesu kissed, where they had their rendevous and etc etc. You know…the sicko part of us want to dig out all the dirts and etc. In the end, I think one of the witness, a person related to either Karthigesu or Jean was found to lie in court and hence, Karthigesu was freed from a death sentence.
And let’s us not go into Altantuya case or the DNA mattress case. Shhh….I do not want to discuss those cases. Sensitive issues.
Regarding the maid abuse case, I still remember how I felt when it was first publicised. The woman, Yim Pek Ha claimed she had post-natal blues and seek sympathy because she has four children. I too just had a baby and have four kids at that time and yet, I cannot sympathise. However, I was angry with the press at that time because before they found evidence that Yim Pek Ha was guilty, her face was already on TV and the papers and condemned as a monster. The photos of Nirmala bruised face and body on the paper were so horrifying, we automatically judged that Yim Pek Ha was guilty.
Months or years later, I saw another news that Yim Pek Ha was free and happily smiling. We were told that it could be the maid own’s self-inflicted injuries. But self-inflicted till her nipple detached (I am only recalling what I read, I may be wrong)? So, I was torn between believing Yim Pek Ha and Nirmala. One one hand, I want to believe that Yim Pek Ha is not such a monster. On the other hand, I cannot believe Nirmala is telling lies and self-inflicted so much injuries. However, it does not make sense that she endured so many times of abuse.
Today, the case is put to rest. Yim Pek Ha is found guilty. She will go to jail.
But a lot of lives have been destroyed. Those of her children, her husband and I wonder what will become of Nirmala. I hope Yim Pek Ha receives the mental help she needs. Otherwise, the 18 years will serve no purpose. And I hope no one abuses their maids ever. Let’s hum, “Heal the world” by Michael Jackson (whom if you do not already know, is Mikhaeel, a Muslim now).
More on Malaysiakini :
DPP Stanley Augustin said this was the first time in the history of the courts that an individual had been charged with three counts under Section 326 of the Penal Code, for offences against the same victim.
i was just like you before this.torn to believe either Nirmala or Yim.once we were told by Yim that Nirmala was accused of “self-inflicting injuries”.then i know that was a bullshit.i can accept if one or two times but no one really hurt themself for everyday in 5 months!.
after that i somehow had the strong feeling that Yim is really guity for the crime she did.and yes now she really is guilty for abusing her maid.justice has been served.
wow this news is somewhat disturbing…i live in KL and i used to go to the same methodist church with Yim Pek Ha.we had bible study classes together and shes a very attentive and quiet woman.there’s once she talk to us about this issue and she said she did not hit the maid and is deeply traumatized by the event and we prayed for her.we were baptized on the same day and she actually help to take a picture of me getting baptized.yer kenot believe she really did it.@.@and i LOVE UR BLOG !!! =D
am not trying to be a pain in d arse, I wish there are more legislated protection for house maids/helpers. my mum has maid to help her out and we treat her as part of the family but when comes to chores, work is still work and she knows where to draw the line.
I hav seen it wt my own eyes, some maids are forced to work long hours with no rest, some are mistreated both physically and emotionally. Some kehpoh aunty warned my mum b4 she employed a maid yrs ago tht she MUST never let them make phone calls, never let them go out never tis never tat… I went to tell tht aunty off and said ‘you wont treat yr own dotter this way, would you?’
just be nice to ppl….
singing along wt lilian..”heal d world…..”
JT´s last blog post..Go manual – The SUNNY F/16 rule
last year i was stationed in Jakarta for work assignment. gotten a chance to talk to locals. in their mind, Msia is an evil country especially when coming to hiring maids. they claimed Msia employers are cheaters and abusers. set an example has just one out of thousands unreported.
back in here i witnesses alot of cases, let me point a few:
1. family dinner outing at cafe base floor of Ikano. I dont want to point out what restaurant that sells local hainan food there. this entire family around 15 of them (i guess is 3 generations there) just have their dinner with their kids and their maid just stand there. I REPEAT STANDING THERE! they don’t even ask her to sit and offer a dinner to her. not even a cup of tea for thirst crunching? what on earth she deserves that kind of treat?
2. pay peanuts get monkey is the phrase we often used when we demand greater pays from our employers. but for those maids, we pay them kacang putih and get them to do cleaning the zoo negara! some even bring their mad as just like slave, bring them to office to clean, then goto mother, grandmother, brother-in-law, mother-in-law etc… to do cleaning. what kind of mentality our malaysian have?
3. not to mention about the abuses, bad treats, some dress their maid like prisoners. cut their hair by their own, don’t even willing to spend RM8-12 for a quick cut? if i could had time, i could sit here and write all day long! somehow i am just pissed to witness these everyday in life.
i told myself, i would never wanted to hire maid in the house. if i really need a helping hand, i would only take hourly maid.
my sis pays extra if she ‘borrows’ my mum’s helper to clean her house that she seldom stays. Now, the helper is so looking forward to her next ‘assignment’ tht she wil ask my sis whenever the time of the month comes. tht kacang/zoo negara story is so true. There is no means of getting help if the maid has been mistreated unless they run away/report to police. Most of their agents are just a bunch of unscrupulous money makers (human snake heads).
JT´s last blog post..Go manual – The SUNNY F/16 rule
amy..perhaps what you witnessed was someone with multiple personality disorder..it wasn’t her who hit the maid and it wasn’t the same her who got baptised..you know what i mean?..so, perhaps, you can console yourself that it’s not really her who’s found guilty and going to jail..
oh dear..that just reminds me..i must really take a good look at my wife later..in case she’s not really my “wife”..you know what i mean??..hehe
The ugly side of an individual have nothing to do with faith.
Who needs maids when you can have slaves, ie. mother in laws. Bwahaha!!!
Tan Silly – Bwahahaha…evil.
jeff – Wuah, you also got split personality?
JT – Over here, people treat their maids like slaves. Wash car in the hot sun every day! Chisin.
blink4blog – Me too, I will never hire maid as long as I can.
JT – Here maids are like status symbols, some don’t really need also must hire one like owning a pedigree dog like that. And the greatest joke is some husbands go jolly after getting maids, send the wife and maid to shopping malls liao. Got maid extra pair of hands to watch the kids liao, so he no need to come along liao.
amy – There must be some mental illness, in both women. But my concern is the children, whether they have witnessed all these abuses/injuries and whether they are getting the counseling they need etc. I am sure the church members will continue to be there for them, no matter what the judgement is.
rashid – Hopefully people learn from her mistake.
lilian..you should meet my wife..she got SPIT personality…can hit someone 3 feet away some times…kekekekeke..that’s when i split..and excuse myself to go some where…kakakakka
I have 7 adults and 2 kids living under the same roof now that I hired part time maids so no one in the family mistreat domestic workers. Hope that will lessen domestic worker abuse.
Agnes Tan´s last blog post..Dream Blue & White Jacket with Skirt
my previous maid is one good person until the day she say she wanted to go back because her bf tol her so..celaka!! i already pay her flight, the bf dare to scold me and tell me to send her gf back..
Never in her 2 years service i scold her or mistreat her..i allowed her to go shopping with my sis, no restriction at home and even tapau 3pcs kfc (hehehe) when i’m not cooking at home. And how she repay me?? follow bf pulak..chis!!
Now i no more maid liao..MIL tolong jaga anak..hehehee
kaDusMama´s last blog post..What a Happy day!!!
walao you kaDusMama, 3 pcs ayam goreng want ppl to follow you whole life already ar. Maybe she fell in love ler and wanted to start a family on her own. You don’t expect her to be your maid whole life right??
A soon-to-be Yim Pek Ha case:
http://www.demoments.net/blog/?cat=683
Do judges (especially local ones ), or most of the people
here, for that matter, know anything about dissociative
and borderline personality disorders ?
Unfortunately most here have never heard of Sigmund Freud
and Carl Jung.
” ….. patients with DD (dissociative disorder) are at high risk for
self-mutilating behavior. ”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/queryd.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18587168&itool=pubmed_docsum
” Moderate/severe self-injurers were more likely than minor
self-injurers, who in turn were more likely than non-injurers,
to have a history of psychiatric treatment, hospitalization and
suicide attempt, as well as current suicide ideation. ”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/queryd.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17349105&itool=pubmed_docsum
I agree Chong. It’s easy to point fingers when people aren’t open to the many unknowns and less heard of mental conditions like DD. My heart goes out to both women in this unfortunate circumstance- the pain and hardship they have been thru on different levels. But my biggest worry lies on the possibility that Yim could actually be innocent on most part of the obvious physical abuse that we see on Nirmala.
Just because majority of us in Asia haven’t heard of DD, and the likes, doesn’t rule out the possibility that it could be the case here. Yes, we simply could not comprehend why Nirmala, or anyone, would do such horrendous acts on herself but does that mean the blame lies on Yim then? After all, we have to find someone to blame to make sense of it all.
I worry that the local judges and authorities are pressured to make an example of this case, hence the verdict. Most of all, what have we done, in the name of human rights, should Yim really be innocent as she has pleaded throughout this whole ordeal. What would life be like for her and her whole family from here on?
‘u r innocent until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubts’ and not the other way round and I stress again the words ‘reasonable doubts’. A court judgement has been made and without the full knowledge of the evidence been presented, it will be stupid to comment on the fitness and fairness of the judge involved.
JT´s last blog post..Go manual – The SUNNY F/16 rule
There’s obviously a lack of faith in the judicial system for various reasons.
i believe yim pek ha is guilty. i believe yim pek ha did abuse nirmala. i dont think any punishment imposed on the stupid housewife would equal the amount of pain and injury nirmala had sufferred.
like i always tell people, if you cannot stand your maid for being a dungu, if u want to call your maid stupid, then do not employ any maid. ppl help you with your house chores with minimal salary and if u dowan to treat them well, then dont employ them. you are not their saviour by giving them employment opportunity, you are torturing them. so do them a favour, do not employ them if u want to hurt them!