The Klang Sessions Court delivered a landmark judgment yesterday, sentencing a police officer and his wife to 12 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for trafficking their Indonesian maid and subjecting her to forced labor, which led to severe physical injuries. The court found S. Vijayan Rao, 40, and K. Rineshini Naidu, 37, guilty of human trafficking, concluding that the defense failed to establish reasonable doubt in their case.
Presiding Judge Zulqarnain Hassan emphasized the harrowing ordeal faced by the victim, whose injuries were extensively documented. The photos clearly depict the victim's suffering. According to forensic expert Dr. Siew Sheue Feng from Hospital Kuala Lumpur, 20 fresh injuries were observed on her head, three on her neck, five on her chest, one on her back, and six on each hand. Additionally, there were 42 scars on her head, two on her chest, seven on her back, two on her abdomen, and eight on her right hand, the judge noted.
The court was moved by the victim's plight, which spanned three years of unimaginable torment. Judge Zulqarnain sternly remarked, “She lived in a state of utter misery. A maid is not a lifeless object or a commodity; she is a human being with feelings, a beating heart, and dignity. What happened was nothing short of a living hell.
The gravity of the crime, committed within the home of a police officer a figure of authority and law enforcement was not lost on the court. The judge underscored the betrayal of trust and the symbolic clash between the defendant's uniform and his actions. Such a crime contradicts the very principles the police uniform stands for. A severe punishment is warranted, he said.
In addition to the prison sentences, the court ordered the couple to pay RM80,000 in compensation to the victim within one month. Failure to do so will result in an additional six-month imprisonment.
The offenses occurred at their residence in Taman Industri Bolton, Gombak, between March and August 2022. The charges were filed under Section 13(a) of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code. This law prescribes life imprisonment or a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, along with whipping, for such offenses.
Rineshini received an additional four-year sentence and a RM5,000 fine for grievously harming the victim. Meanwhile, Vijayan was sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined RM25,000 for employing the victim without a valid permit in December 2021, as per Section 55B(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. Failure to pay these fines will result in an additional four-month imprisonment.
The court ruled that all prison sentences would run concurrently starting immediately. However, a stay of execution was granted, allowing the couple to appeal the verdict at the High Court.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul’Ain Abu Bakar led the case, while lawyers Kamarul Zaman Abdul Rahman and A. Narainasami represented the accused.
Mathilda Binti is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
