The Summary Court in Madina yesterday found the Saudi employer woman, who was not named, guilty under the newly enacted anti-human trafficking royal decree and jailed her for three years, the Saudi Gazette reported.
The case of the maid, Sumiati, received worldwide attention after she was admitted to hospital last year with broken bones and burns to her face and body. The Indonesian government took up her case to its consulate and her lawyer Abdul Rahman Al-Muhammadi said he would appeal the ruling to press for tougher punishment.
During the trial, the Indonesian maid appeared in person in the court last week to show the judges the burn and beating marks on her body after she had failed to turn up in earlier hearings.
The Saudi woman was arrested after allegedly beating Sumiati so severely so as to break her bones and cause internal bleeding. She also put a hot iron on her head and slash the girl with scissors.
The Indonesian woman's case was highlighted by international woman rights groups who saw in it the paucity of protection for millions of Asian domestic workers specially in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.
Young women, mostly from Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Pakistan and Indonesia work as domestic help in the oil-rich states. Though initially denying that the Indonesian woman had been maltreated, the Saudi Labour Ministry said it was sorry about the case, but described it as an isolated incident.
Sumiati had to undergo an emergency surgery, according to an Indonesian consulate official who said she will need further surgery and treatment. Her lawyers also said they would press for compensation.