Jakarta – In response to the recent police investigation into a domestic abuse case in Bogor, West Java, the Women's Institute Foundation has urged the House of Representatives to pass the bill on domestic workers' rights.

The demand was made because the bill, which has been included in the National Legislation Program since 2010, has not yet been discussed.

In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday evening, the foundation said the recent discovery of abuse in Bogor showed that the government had not met its obligation to protect domestic workers.

The foundation also urged the National Police to continue investigating the Bogor abuse case and allegations of human trafficking in the case, which implicated the wife of a retired police general.

"In the period between 2007 and 2011 there were 726 cases of severe mistreatment of housemaids in Indonesia, including 536 unpaid salaries," said chairperson of the foundation, Rotuah Valentina Sagala.

The Bogor Police removed 12 allegedly abducted domestic workers on Wednesday from the general's two-story house, which was surrounded by a 3-meter-high fence and barbed wire. Eight of the freed domestic workers were girls.

One of the housemaids, Yuliana Leiwer, 19, managed to escape from the house belonging to the police general, identified as MS, and filed a police report.

Yuliana said that the housemaids were frequently abused by MS and his wife and she had yet to receive any salary for her work over the past few months. The police have not named any suspects in the case. (idb)