A Saudi court has sentenced an Indonesian housemaid to death for the murder of a 4-year-old child in September.
The woman was found guilty of murdering Tala Al-Shehri, her employers’ child, while her parents were away at work and her sisters were at school, the Saudi Gazette reported on Monday.
The victim’s parents have refused to forgive the maid in return for blood money, the newspaper said.
The maid was also given an eight-month jail term and 200 lashes for an attempted suicide after the child’s death.
The defendant’s lawyer, appointed by the Indonesian mission in Riyadh, will file an appeal to the verdict. The consulate will also initiate legal action in Jakarta against a man who allegedly convinced the woman to commit the crime, the lawyer said.
Local media reported in April last year that 25 Indonesian domestic helpers are on death row in Saudi Arabia and that 22 others have been pardoned and sent home.
Indonesia had also announced a moratorium on sending migrant workers to the oil-rich Gulf monarchy following reports of abuses and killings, reports AFP.