Indonesian Presidential Candidate Prabowo Subianto Stepping Up to Help Maid Facing Death Row in Malaysia

Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party chief patron Prabowo Subianto said that he is hiring a top Malaysian lawyer to save an Indonesian maid from a death sentence.

Prabowo said he has met with Wilfrida, the Indonesian maid who is on trial for the 2010 murder of 60-year-old Yeap Seok Pen in her Kampung Lubok, Pasir Mas, home.

Wilfrida has been working since she was 12 and is said to be a victim of human trafficking.

The Malaysian woman allegedly accused the young maid of sleeping with her husband in an argument that turned physical, according to reports in Malaysian media.

Prabowo described Wilfrida’s situation as reprehensible, saying she did not get enough legal help and that he had tried to contact the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur via telephone but had not received a response.

Prabowo said the lawyer appointed by the Indonesian embassy to assist her in the death trial only met her a few hours before the trial and therefore he has now hired one of Malaysia’s top lawyers, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee, in the hope that she can avoid the death penalty.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar flew to Malaysia on Thursday to meet with Malaysian officials as the maid’s trial drew to a close.

“The government is doing everything it can to save Wilfrida,” Muhaimin said. “Besides giving a maximum [amount of] legal support, we are also taking a bilateral diplomatic approach to freeing her.”

The ministry coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian embassy to secure a team of attorneys to represent Wilfrida, Muhaimin said.

“The team of attorneys will assist her and observe her trial,” he said. “They are working hard to find strong legal evidence to break the case and free Wilfrida from the death penalty.”

Wilfrida’s trial is scheduled to conclude today when the court issues a verdict. If declared guilty, the woman faces a maximum sentence of death under Malaysia’s criminal code.

Wifrida’s actual age at the time of her arrest is a key point in the government’s defense. Wilfrida was either 21 years old or 17 years old when she was charged with murder.

The woman’s passport carried a birthdate of June 8, 1989, but her christening letter from a Catholic church in Indonesia read Oct. 12, 1993, according to Indonesian news portal Tempo.co.

Source: Jakarta Globe, September 30, 2013

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