A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail said it was clear that Zaimatulhakma Abdul Hamid indulged in forced labour against the victim, Supiyah.
“In other words, this is modern-day slavery,” said Hadhariah, who sat with Justices Azman Abdullah and SM Komathy, in dismissing Zaimatulhakma’s appeal against her conviction and sentence.
Zaimatulhakma, 49, had been charged and convicted under Section 13 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 for the offence committed between March 2009 and 2019 at a house in Taman Meru Mulia, Klang, Selangor.
The sessions court found her guilty in 2020 and sentenced her to 10 years’ jail and ordered her to pay RM50,000 in compensation to the victim, which was affirmed by the High Court in 2021.
Hadhariah said Zaimatulhakma’s treatment of Supiyah, who was employed to take care of her mentally challenged child, was inhumane.
“She was not allowed to return home, and during the 10 years she stayed here (in Malaysia), she was only paid a total of RM6,000. She was not allowed to use a handphone,” the judge said.
Medical evidence also revealed that the maid was physically abused, and was even scalded with hot water.
During submission, Azman also remarked that a person did not need to be educated to show compassion for others.
Hadhariah said Zaimatulhakma’s conviction and jail term were not manifestly excessive.
A warrant of committal was issued for Zaimatulhakma to serve the jail term. The mother of two had been on bail pending the outcome of today’s appeal.
The bench also dismissed the prosecution’s cross-appeal to enhance the jail term.
Earlier, lawyer KA Ramu submitted that there was no evidence that Zaimatulhakma trafficked the victim, who was brought into the country by an agent known as Nawawi from Jakarta.
“The trafficker is Nawawi and not Zaimatulhakma,” he said, adding that Supiyah earlier worked for an employer before she was abandoned.
“She then worked for my client for an agreed monthly salary of RM400,” he said.
However, deputy public prosecutor Khushairy Ibrahim said the defence could not take a simplistic approach on the meaning of trafficking under the law.
“It includes exploiting a vulnerable person by threatening, use of force or other forms of coercion,” he said.
He said medical evidence showed that Zaimatulhakma had repeatedly abused the maid physically, including beating her up for mistakes made during her daily chores.
“She was so distraught and finally decided to run away to seek help,” he said, adding that public interest demands that the jail term should be enhanced.