Petronela Nahak @ Ida Nahak, 34, worked as a domestic helper at a house at Macalister Road here, but claimed that she had not been paid her wages throughout the total of nine years she spent with the family.
Ida, who is from Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), one of Indonesia’s easternmost regions, had come to Penang legally through an agent in 2009.
She has a valid working permit which expires on July 27, 2018, the consulate official said.
“We managed to rescue her from her work place together with the assistance of the police,” the official told FMT.
The consulate official added Ida was in good health and there were no signs of abuse. Ida also said she was not abused, adding her employers were “very fussy” and refused to let her go back for the holidays that she is entitled to.
She was allowed to go outdoors, but was often with “very strict” supervision by her employers and was not allowed to speak to anyone. She also claimed to have been locked-up in the house most of the time.
According to a report by Antara News, in her first two years of employment, Ida was to have been paid RM550 a month. However, she never saw the money as her employers said it was banked into her account.
However, when she asked how much was banked in, her employers would get angry and not reveal the amount.
“I was given a RM550 salary per month, later increased to RM600. Later, I was told I will be given RM800. My boss says all has been banked into my bank account,” Ida told the portal.
Ida added that the police and the Indonesian consulate are investigating the matter regarding her wages.
The report said consulate officials and police went to the house on Feb 19 and rescued her from her employers. Ida arrived at her hometown yesterday evening.
Upon her arrival at the Kupang International Airport, NTT, Ida was reunited with her mother Theresia Soe, 65, who has not seen her for nine years after she went to work in Malaysia in 2009.
Ida was reportedly unable to recognise her mother until she was alerted by officials, the portal reported.
Theresia said she has been praying for her safe return ever since she left her hometown. Both women were seen hugging each other for more than five minutes, causing local journalists to tear up in capturing their reunion.
Meanwhile, FMT has contacted Penang police chief Commissioner A Thaiveegan and are awaiting his comments on the issue.
Coincidentally, NTT is the same region from where the late Adelina Lisao hailed. Lisao is the maid who died at the Bukit Mertajam Hospital on Feb 11, after having suffered abuse at the hands of her employer.