Malaysian Man Charged with Trafficking 63 Indonesian Women

KUALA LUMPUR, KOMPAS.com - A Malaysian man has been charged with trafficking and exploiting 63 Indonesian women who were brought into Malaysia to work as domestic helpers, his lawyer said Tuesday. Lee In Chiew, 49, a businessman and former teacher, was charged Monday in the northern state of Perlis for trafficking and “exploiting them by using threats and force”, said his lawyer K. Kumarathiraviam.

“There were 63 purported victims. All of them are Indonesians aged between 21 to 33 years,” he said.

Kumarathiraviam said three of the maids ran away from the accused and lodged a report with authorities, which led to his arrest on July 24. If found guilty he could be jailed for up to 20 years.

“We are confident we can succeed in the case. The charges against Lee are weak,” he told AFP. “Lee runs a well-known maid agency. All of them were brought into the country legally.”

No plea was recorded and Lee was freed on bail. Malaysia has no laws governing conditions for domestic workers but the government has promised to draft legislation to protect them from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor conditions.

Malaysia is home to some 1.2 million documented Indonesian workers, as well as about 800,000 Indonesians working illegally. Cases of abuse of maids at the hands of Malaysian bosses are a frequent source of outrage in Indonesia, contributing to often prickly relations between the two countries.