Siti Khotimah, a 23-year-old woman from Pemalang, Central Java, can no longer speak. With tears streaming down her face, she stumbled out of the courtroom shortly after Judge Tumpanuli Marbun read out the verdict in a trial at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday afternoon (July 24). Her leg wound has yet to heal, and now her heart is bleeding.
Not only Siti, but her support team from LBH APIK Jakarta and Semarang, as well as JALA PRT, are also at a loss for words. They are still shocked by the lenient verdict handed down by the judge against the nine defendants who subjected Siti to inhumane abuse for seven months.
The judge sentenced Metty Kapantow (70 years old) to four years in prison, while her husband, So Kasander (73 years old), and their daughter, Jane Sander (33 years old), were sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. One domestic worker named Evi (35 years old) was also sentenced to four years in prison. Six other domestic workers, namely Sutriyah (25 years old), Saodah (49 years old), Inda Yanti (38 years old), Febriana Amelia (20 years old), and Pariyah (31 years old), were sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
“The state was absent for them. This legal process is no different from a market, full of transactions. The court only uses the Criminal Code and the Domestic Violence Law, even though it should also use the Law on Sexual Violence and the Law on Human Trafficking,” said Lita Anggraini from JALA PRT, who has been advocating for domestic workers for decades.
“Compared to previous cases that had even less impact on the victims, the sentences imposed this time are much heavier,” she continued.
The transaction referred to by Lita refers to the open cash assistance of IDR 200 million ($13,500) from the suspect’s legal team to Suparna, Siti Khotimah’s father, inside the courtroom before the verdict was announced. This assistance is in addition to the previous IDR 275 million ($18,500) in compensation that is still being processed in the court.
The payment of compensation is one of the factors that the judge considered in mitigating the sentences for the defendants, along with their advanced age, lack of prior convictions, and remorse for their actions.
DPR Regrets the Lenient Verdict
Luluk Nur Hamidah, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the National Awakening Party (PKB), expressed regret over the lenient verdict.
“As a member of society and a parliamentarian who takes the discussion of the Domestic Workers Protection Bill (RUU PPRT) in the DPR very seriously, I deeply regret this lenient verdict. It does not reflect justice for Siti Khotimah, who has experienced multiple crimes. The judge did not take into account the complex situation that Siti Khotimah faced in an imbalanced power relationship, the physical and non-physical abuses she suffered, and even the sexual assault. It is not appropriate for the judge to sentence them to only four years in prison,” said Luluk.
Willy Aditya, a member of the DPR from the Nasdem Party who has also been involved in the discussion of the RUU PPRT in the DPR, expressed a similar sentiment.
“This verdict disturbs the sense of justice, not only for the victim but also for the wider society. The public needs to monitor this judicial process. The two charges brought by the prosecutor, ranging from severe assault to domestic violence, should have accumulated to a sentence of 15 years. However, the imposed sentence is only four years. The prosecutor should consider filing an appeal,” he said in an interview with VOA.
Subjected to Collective Torture
Siti Khotimah was initially recruited by a domestic worker agency in May 2022 to work at the Simprug Indah Apartment in South Jakarta, owned by Metty and So, with a monthly salary offer of IDR 2 million ($135). However, after three months of work, Siti was accused of stealing food and clothes, which led to inhumane abuse not only by Metty and So but also by their daughter, Jane Sander, and six other domestic workers under their employer’s orders.
In a previous court hearing, Siti’s legal team described some of the inhumane abuses committed by the defendants, including being physically beaten, burned with cigarettes, chained, scalded with boiling water, shackled, forced to eat dog excrement and her own waste, confined in a dog cage, and subjected to sexual assault, such as being asked to work without any clothes on, having her breasts scratched, and being raped with chopsticks, among others.
In addition to the physical injuries, most of which are still in the healing process, Siti Khotimah also suffers from prolonged trauma.
Before Monday’s verdict, Siti expressed her hopes for the legal process in court.
“I want the judge and prosecutor to demand justice. I just want those who tortured me to feel what I am feeling now,” she said. Unfortunately, Siti’s hopes were shattered by the gavel that delivered a lenient verdict to the defendants. [em/jm]
