The Foreign Affairs Ministry helped repatriate three Cambodians from Malaysia late last month, including a maid who said she was raped by her employer, according to a ministry statement.
The maid, a 34-year-old from Kompong Thom province, had been illegally employed since January 2015, the statement, released on Monday, said.
“The laborer was raped by her foreign employer in Perak state. She had run along the street and Perak state police brought her to the [Cambodian] embassy on December 1,” it said.
The woman arrived in Phnom Penh on December 29 after receiving help from the embassy and Malaysian immigration officials.
Last month, the Labor Ministry said it was close to finalizing the details of a plan to overturn a government moratorium on maids working in Malaysia, imposed in 2011 following reports of unpaid wages, forced overtime and physical abuse.
A 34-year-old laborer from Pursat province who was working illegally at a plastic factory since 2012, as well as his 2-year-old daughter, who had been hospitalized for two months, were also returned to Cambodia and arrived on December 31, the statement said. It did not provide details on the child’s health.
Moeun Tola, executive director of labor rights NGO Central, said some labor recruiters were still sending maids to Malaysia by disguising recruitment agencies as English schools.
“Physical violence and rape of maids are still happening because the government does not have mechanisms to monitor their work situation there,” Mr. Tola said.
