Indonesia Values Malaysian Judge's Sentence In NTT Migrant Persecution Case Not Fair

A number of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) queue for body temperature checks at the Batam Center International Port, Riau Islands, Thursday, May 21, 2020. (Between-M N Kanwa)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government is disappointed with the decision of the Malaysian court judge to cancel the charges for the persecution and attempted murder of a migrant worker from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Mariance Kabu.

Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) Judha Nugraha said the Indonesian government considered the decision to not fulfill a sense of justice.

"The evidence of permanent injury suffered by Mariance Kabu due to alleged abuse by her employer cannot be denied," he said via text message, Wednesday, July 31, was confiscated by Antara.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur facilitated the presence of Mariance during the Initial Decision Reading Session (prima facie) of the Asyen Ampang Court on Tuesday, July 30 in Selangor, Malaysia.

Of the four things charged, namely criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO), persecution, attempted murder, and immigration rules, Mariance's employer was found guilty in the indictment of the TIP article and immigration violations.

Meanwhile, the indictment of the article on persecution and attempted murder was canceled by the judge because it was deemed not to fulfill the criminal element due to the lack of evidence.

The Indonesian government considers the fall of a guilty verdict for the TIP and immigration cases to have an important meaning in efforts to protect Indonesian citizens, as well as a benchmark for law enforcement in cases that befell Indonesian migrant workers, especially in Malaysia.

Even so, the Indonesian government encourages Malaysian prosecutors to pay attention to the available evidence to take appeals for charges of persecution and attempted murder.

"Watching the lawyer's briefing, appointed by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, will also explore possible further legal remedies that can be taken so that Mariance can get justice," said Judha.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the watching briefing lawyer will continue to monitor the implementation of the follow-up trial with the agenda of hearing the defendant's defense.