Indonesian worker caught in the dragnet of horror

An Indonesian woman married to a Malaysian has been accused of human trafficking, a crime she did not commit, says her family who pleaded with the authorities to get her out of jail in Malaysia.

Supinah (43) is now involved in legal issues in Malaysia. She came to Malaysia as an Indonesian citizen working abroad and was classified in Indonesia as a TKI. She said she came to Sekinchan, Malaysia to seek employment to support her four children who are still of school age. Her first husband, an Indonesian, a fisherman, died 10 years ago.

Working in a canteen, she was approached by a man one Mohd Nordin bin Attan (54) who proposed to marry her. She agreed.

But one day local immigration officers together with Malaysian Police raided their home in Pasir Panjang arresting 20 illegal migrant workers who were in the house. They arrested Supinah too and accused her of human trafficking.

This is the story told by Maryam (70), the mother of Supinah.

“Supinah got married to Nordin, a Malaysian. Supinah worked in the canteen with her employer and Nordin often ate there, but she was asked to marry Nordin,” said Maryam last week.

According to Maryam, Supinah initially learned that her husband was working as a skipper carrying passengers. But after the raid by the local immigration authorities, she found out Nordin was dealing in illegal migrant workers. He would pick them up from the middle of the sea and provide temporary shelter for Indonesian citizens to find work in Malaysia.

But Nordin went missing after the incident, refusing to help investigators in the case and since Supinah is his wife, the authorities are holding her responsible for the crime, says the mother.

The local police say Supinah was considered to be the brainchild of the smuggling racket and was responsible for providing a hiding place for illegal migrant workers, according to news reports in Indonesia.

Maryam urged the Indonesian authorities to intervene in the case of Supinah. Maryam explained that her daughter was completely innocent. -/TISG