Note leads to rescue of Indonesian maid trapped on balcony in Petaling Jaya

KUALA LUMPUR: A note pleading for help led to the rescue of a 21-year-old Indonesian maid who had been locked up on the balcony of a condominium in Petaling Jaya.

Only given a pillow and a mattress, the victim suffered whenever it rained.

Her anguish ended when a team from Bukit Aman CID Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) division (D3) raided the condominium unit in Mutiara Damansara at about 5pm on Sunday (June 9).

The division principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Soffian Santong said a 69-year-old woman, believed to be the employer, was detained.

"Initial investigation revealed that the victim was only given the balcony to stay at, instead of a room.

"She was to remain there, and the door to the balcony was locked from the inside," he said when contacted on Monday (June 10).

The victim was only allowed inside the condominium unit between 5am and 11am when she was instructed to clean the unit, he said.

"She had only been working there for about a week and she had not been paid any salary.

"Her situation was discovered when she wrote a note pleading for help and tossed it over the balcony," he said.

The case is classified under Section 12 of the Atipsom Act and Section 55B of the Immigration Act.