Maid files suit to claim nine years of unpaid wages

KOTA BHARU - An Indonesian maid who filed a lawsuit claiming for nine years of unpaid salary told the Sessions Court today that she suffered injuries after she was beaten up and slapped by her former employers.

Derffi Bisilisin, 36, was testifying as the main witness on the first day of trial of her suit before judge Mohd Zul Zakiqudin Zulkifli.

The plaintiff claimed that her former bosses who were a married couple and also the defendants in the suit had beaten her up using clothes hanger and belt.

"I was beaten up and slapped by the husband and wife and his mother while I worked with the family.

"They had beaten me up using a belt, clothes hanger, helmet and a wooden chair until I was bleeding and had bruises," she said in her testimony from the witness stand here, today.

In November, 2021, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (KBRI) appointed a lawyer to represent the plaintiff for two claims for unpaid salaries while she was working as a maid for the couple amounting to RM93,000 and as an assistant at a vehicle accessories shop amounting to RM109,000.

Derfi who was from Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur said other than performing her duties washing plates and cook, she was asked to work at the vehicle accessories shop throughout the day despite it not being in her contract agreement.

She said her employers told her to sleep on the floor at the guest hall and was given food once a day without being paid her wages throughout her service from July 23, 2011, until she escaped from her employer in Oct 29, 2020.

Derfi said she had the rights to claim for the wages for both her jobs as well as general and exemplary damages amounting to RM50,000 for the mistreatment she received from the family of the employer.

"Following the agreement, the services I offered as a maid started with a wage of RM600 monthly and I was given a yearly increment of RM50 reaching RM1,100, but I never received the pay for that nor was I being paid for working at the shop.

"I have the right to claim for it, I came from afar and had to leave my family behind in Indonesia to work here, but my employers neglected how I felt. I'm not asking to be treated like a queen, but appreciate me as a human, not an animal, “ she said while wiping off her tears.

Defri was represented by lawyer Alias Ibrahim while the defendants were represented by lawyer Tara Singh Delip Singh.

KBRI second secretary Ardina Desnita Tinaor was also present during the proceedings.

In January 2023, Defri's employers (husband and wife) were sentenced to seven and three years jail respectively and were fined RM30,000 after they were found guilty under the Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 due to exploitation of forced labour.