Maid held over murder of employer

JOHOR BARU: An Indonesian maid was arrested on suspicion of murdering her employer at a double-storey terrace house in Taman Su­­ria near here.

Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Sulaiman Salleh said the 30-year-old woman was detained about 1km from the crime scene.

He said the suspect, from Batam, was found by passers-by at Jalan Suria 2 in the housing estate, covered in blood.

Police received calls at around 2pm on Thursday that a woman had been found lying by the roadside with two cuts on her head and three slash marks on her face.

“Initially, she claimed she was raped and had run away from her assailant,” ACP Sulaiman said in a press conference here yesterday.

He said police became suspicious when she also claimed she had been abused by her employer.

At first, the maid refused to co-operate with the police but later told them that she had an argument with her employer.

ACP Sulaiman said police went to the employer’s house and found the 59-year old woman lying in a pool of blood in the master bedroom with a nine-inch kitchen knife in her abdomen.

“The employer, a karaoke outlet owner in Taman Pelangi, was with the suspect when the incident took place as her children were out working,” he said.

He said the suspect, who has a work permit, had started working with the victim about eight days ago.

He said police also found a diary belonging to the suspect in the house.

“In the diary, she wrote that she was unhappy and felt stressed working with the victim,” said ACP Sulaiman.

He said police also seized a laptop, a purse, a gold chain and a MyKad belonging to the victim, and the suspect's handbag.

The suspect was remanded until Feb 1 and sent to Hospital Sultanah Aminah where she received seven stitches on her head and 16 stitches on her left cheek.