by Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star), 11 Oct 2020
MANILA, Philippines — A Malaysian court has convicted the former employers of a Filipino for violation of the country’s anti-trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants law, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday.
The Sessions Court in Malaysia reversed the initial acquittal of the Malaysian couple and sentenced them to 10 to 12 years in prison for the offense.
They were also ordered to pay the Filipina victim 20,000 ringgit or around P232,900.
“The conviction is a big win for us during this pandemic and is the first victory for a Filipina in Malaysia,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said.
According to the DFA, the Malaysian couple took advantage of the Filipina after she escaped a rape attempt from her first employer.
She escaped from the couple after they subjected her to cruel and abusive acts. A Filipino couple found her in an abandoned lot and brought her to the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
After a series of police investigations, her case was classified as a violation of the anti-trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants law.
She was repatriated in 2018 after testifying on the criminal case filed before the Magistrate Court, which dismissed the case.
The appeal was subsequently filed and granted by the Sessions Court of Malaysia.
Last year, the DFA also helped the Filipina fly back to Malaysia to file a civil case against her former employers.
The DFA said it utilized its legal assistance fund to provide a lawyer for her case and pay for the bond or security cost in the civil action, which remains pending.
June 2025
Philippine Environment Month!
“Action for Nature, for the Future!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
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Monthly Observances:
1 Jun – World Day of Parents
5 Jun – World Environment Day
7 Jun – World Food Safety Day
8 Jun – World Oceans Day
12 Jun – World Day Against
Child Labour
15 Jun – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
16 Jun – International Day of Family Remittances
17 Jun – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
20 Jun – World Refugee Day
25 Jun – Day of the Seafarer
27 Jun – Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
