A Filipina household service worker (HSW) became a victim of Saudi employer who poured boiling water into her body and suffered horrific burns. The photos of the unidentified Filipina went viral on Facebook after it was first posted by PEBA on May 17, 2014.
Photo Credit (PEBA FB Page)
The victim was already identified by PEBA but we decided not to include her name on this report to protect her identity. Photos of the victim were uploaded on Facebook, it went viral and got the support of various Filipinos and other nationalities who saw the photos.
The photo of the victim showing burns on her back and legs was posted by her cousin, as of posting time, the original photo already garnered more than 11K Likes on Facebook and more than 2.4K comments.
According to the description of PEBA, the victim is a 23-year-old household service worker from Pikit, North Cotabato. Based upon the testimony of the victim, she started working with for the Arab family for only two months before the incident.
She also revealed that she was not given her salaray or provided with proper meals. In an interview with ABS-CBN News, she was qouted as saying “Yong mga tirang mga pagkain nila, sabi ng amo kong matanda, itapon ko daw. Ang ginagawa ko lang po, hindi ko itinatapon, iniipon ko, para kung magutom po ako sa pagtatrabaho ko, `yun po ang kinakain ko,” she told ABS-CBN News.
The tragic incident causing the Filipina’s burned injuries happened last May 4, 2014, her employer’s mother got angry after the victim did not immediately bring her coffee. The old woman grabbed the thermos and poured boiling water on the victim’s body.
It took a few hours before she was even brought to the hospital in Riyadh to be treated with her burns. During the third day of the victim’s treatment at the hospital, she secretly gave a nurse a piece of paper with her older sister’s phone number in the Philippines.
The sister in the Philippines was then able to give the nurse, the number of her relatives in Riyadh. When her employer brought her to the hospital again for treatment, the victim’s cousin was able to rescue her and took care of the victim and was the one who posted the photos on Facebook.
The victim has children ages 11 months and 4 years old back in the Philippines, she continued to appeal for help in filing a case against her abusive employer. Right now, the Filipina victim is in the custody of the Assistance to the Nationals section of the Philippine Embassy.