Employer In Jatinegara Tortures 5 Assistants, Body Is Ironed, Not Paid Months

Freepic Illustration

JAKARTA - A total of five household assistants (ART) from Brebes, West Java, were victims of abuse by their employers on Jalan Jatinegara Timur II, RW 02, Rawa Bunga, Jatinegara District, East Jakarta. The five victims were abused and suffered injuries all over their bodies.

Vina (39), an eye witness to the incident, said that the first time she learned of the incident, it began when the five victims fled from the house where they worked. The five household members fled because they could not stand the torture of their employer on Monday, February 12.

"My friend woke me up, he said next to there was an incident and there were already many residents at the location. When I checked there were five women, their positions were different, some were still stuck on the fence, in the roof tile, and some were already injured below," Vina told reporters, Tuesday, February 13.

The house has a 2 meter high fence equipped with barbed wire and broken glass. Two victims were injured by barbed wire and broken glass while climbing the fence.

Then the residents took the two victims to the clinic for treatment. The victim suffered injuries to the hands, legs and head.

"The other three women, when they came down, I asked Neng why. He said 'I'm working, I want to run away. Inside there is torture'," he said.

The abuse the victim meant was by hitting his own head which was ordered by the employer. Moreover, the persecution has been going on for a long time.

"One of them was told to hit his own head when it sounded that he could stop. Some of them worked (for) two months, one month, three days," he said.

Vina further said that four victims were on average 17 years old and one was 23 years old.

"They said they wanted to run away because some of their bodies were rubbed (ird), one person was rubbed. Asking for permission to come out couldn't. So basically they asked for help to be saved by residents and the police," he said.

Vina added, according to the statements of the victims when they were rescued, the employer at the workplace who carried out the abuse was a woman. The victims claimed to have planned to run away from their employer's house for a long time, but this is the first time they have had the opportunity to escape to save their lives.

"He said 'if for example I was wrong when I was told to hit the hot water, I didn't know I was being punished', he said. I did see that there were burns on the waist," he said.

The five victims were also forced to work 24 hours without being paid. In fact, the perpetrator had promised a salary to the victim of Rp1.8 million per month. In addition, the five victims were also rarely given food while working at the perpetrator's house.

For further processing, the five victims and residents reported the tragic persecution incident to the East Jakarta Metro Police Headquarters. Currently the case is being investigated by the East Jakarta Metro Police Satreskrim PPA Unit.