KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — Indonesian maid Nirmala Bonat’s former employer, Yim Pek Ha, told the High Court here today that she was innocent and had never caused injury to her former maid.
Despite currently serving time for the offence, Yim maintained her innocence.
“Since it happened 10 years ago, my children suffered, so is my husband and the family, because of the lies and accusations she made against me.
“Now that I’m in jail for something which I did not do and I hope and pray the truth will prevail one day,” Yim said when testifying in the hearing of Nirmala’s lawsuit against her and husband, Hii Ik Tiing, for abusing and causing hurt on her with a hot iron and boiling water.
Yim also said there was no reason for her to abuse the maid because she had four young children whom she loved, and a caring husband.
“There is no reason for me to abuse the maid. I was probably a strict employer, but certainly, I would not have abused her,” she added.
Yim said during Nirmala’s employment with her, she found the maid, from Kampung Tuapakas Kota Kupang, Indonesia, to be a lazy, forgetful and messy person.
She recalled on one occasion when Nirmala told her that she wanted to return home and did not want to continue working anymore.
“That was on November 2003 when she packed her things and said she wanted to return home. We contacted the maid agency and ask the agency to take her.
“However, one of the agency’s staff requested to speak with Nirmala and after that she (Nirmala) apologised to us and said she wanted to continue working,” she added.
Nirmala filed the lawsuit on Jan 28, 2010, claiming that the couple had abused and caused grievous hurt on her with a hot iron and boiling water.
In the statement of claim, she stated that she was employed by the couple, who was residing at Villa Putera, Jalan Tun Ismail here, in September 2003.
Nirmala claimed that during her employment at the couple’s residence, she was abused and injured several times by Yim, including with a hot iron on January 2004.
She claimed that Hii failed to stop his wife from injuring her as well as to provide her the necessary medical treatment for her injuries.
Nirmala, 29, is seeking general damages for pain and sufferings that she went through and more than RM40,000 in special damages for loss of income, medical expenses and other cost deem fit by the court.
Yim, a former air stewardess, was sentenced to 18 years jail by the Sessions Court on Nov 27, 2008 after she was found guilty on three counts of causing grievous hurt on the Indonesian maid with a hot iron and hot water at Villa Putera, Jalan Tun Ismail here in January, March and April, 2004.
Upon her appeal to the Kuala Lumpur High Court, her jail term was reduced to 12 years.
On Oct 1, 2012, the Appeals Court upheld a High Court’s decision in imposing a 12-year jail term on Yim.
The hearing before Judge Siti Khadijah S. Hassan Badjenid continues tomorrow. — Bernama
