MANILA, Philippines – Kuwait’s criminal court sentenced to death a Filipina domestic helper for stabbing to death her employer’s 20-year-old daughter last year, an embassy report said yesterday.
Citing a report of Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Claro Cristobal said Jakatia Mandon Pawa, 31, of Zamboanga del Norte, was sentenced to die by hanging for the fatal stabbing.
“Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya confirms that Kuwait’s criminal court sentenced to death OFW (overseas Filipino worker) Jakatia Mandon Pawa for the fatal stabbing of her employer’s daughter last May 14 in the Al-Qurain district, south of Kuwait City,” Cristobal said.
Pawa, the third Filipina sentenced to death in Kuwait, was convicted of murder for stabbing the victim several times with a kitchen knife while she was asleep at dawn on May 14, 2007.
The court rejected a request by defense lawyers for Pawa to undergo psychiatric examination for the determination of her mental state.
“Amb. Endaya said the embassy would continue assisting OFW Pawa and appeal the verdict before Kuwait’s court of appeals,” Cristobal added.
Attorney Khalil al-Qattan, lawyer of Pawa, said his client will appeal the ruling.
He said Pawa has denied stabbing to death her employer’s daughter, Dalal al-Naqi.
He also said the maid had worked for the family for five years and had no motive to kill the woman.
The Filipina reportedly jumped from the second floor of her employer’s house after the killing. She was later admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital for several days for serious injuries.
The sentence will be carried out if the court decision will be upheld by the Kuwaiti court of appeals and cassation and then endorsed by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Kuwait’s Supreme Court also upheld last April 1 the death sentence against May Membrini Vecina for killing her seven-year-old ward and attempting to kill his elder sister and brother.
Filipina maid Marilou Ranario was also given a death sentence but it was commuted to life imprisonment after President Arroyo made a personal appeal to Sheikh Sabah.
DFA records showed there are about 73,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, mostly domestic helpers.
The DFA is monitoring 26 death penalty cases against OFWs that are in various stages of judicial process.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the cases are pending in courts in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia and China, mostly for murder and drug-related offenses. – With AP