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SL agent of Lankan domestic fleeing Kuwaiti employer accused of repeatedly raping her
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) has initiated legal action against a Lankan recruiting agent based in Kuwait City, for the allegedly repeated rape of a Lankan female domestic who had fled harassment from her Arab employer and sought refuge at the suspect’s home, said SLFEB Additional General Manager Mangala Randeniya yesterday.
They said the suspect agent was picked up by the Kuwaiti authorities, questioned and later released, while the victim is presently being cared for at a mercy centre managed by the Lankan Mission in Kuwait. “The 31-year-old woman had arrived in Kuwait late last year and fled her employer’s home owing to poor working conditions and harassment and contacted her local agent responsible for her employment contract.”
However, when the woman turned up at the agent’s home, the man is alleged to have repeatedly raped her, Mr. Randeniya said. He said the Sri Lankan Embassy had been instructed to set up the necessary legal proceedings for the victim, and to ensure that the suspect does not escape justice. “The SLFEB has decided to provide the required funds,” he added.
Faizer Maickeen of the Association for Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) told the Sunday Times that the release of the suspect is questionable, when considering the seriousness of the offence. “It is quite possible that the local investigators had failed to gather sufficient evidence to uphold the rape claim, and enabled the suspect to be bailed out. “The Kuwait police may have contended that the alleged incident would have taken place by mutual consent, as there have been several such cases in the past, which the Kuwaiti authorities are aware of,” Mr Maickeen said.
However, he added that, whatever the case may be, it has to be investigated thoroughly, as the complaint is of a serious nature and the parties involved are both Sri Lankans. “I have also instructed ALFEA representatives in Kuwait City to monitor the case and report back on the suspect agent, so that disciplinary action could be taken accordingly,” he said.
“Hundreds of Sri Lankan female domestics are known to flee their Arab employers’ for various reasons, but cases of rape have been almost nil,” Mr Maickeen concluded.