Pinay maid escapes death in UAE

A Filipina maid who killed her employer for attempting to rape her escaped the death penalty when a United Arab Emirates (UAE) court acquitted her without asking her to pay anything.

In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Amable Aguiluz III said Mary Jane Ramos, 20, can now go home to her family in Isabela after her acquittal last Monday.

"After almost an hour of deliberation, the three judges rendered a judgement of not guilty and did not order Mary Jane to pay any diya (blood money) to the family of the victim," Aguiluz said.

Ramos, of Sitio San Juan Masaya Centro in San Agustin, Isabela, was recruited in the country by E.Y. Erbeso Manpower in January 1999. On Jan. 23 that year, or two days after her arrival in UAE, her employer Mohammad Al Shamsi attempted to sexually abuse her.

"She was left with no option but to defend herself and her honor, without any intent or motive to kill," Aguiluz narrated.

According to Ramos, her employer was drunk when he attempted to rape her. They were alone in the house because her employer’s wife was abroad.

She noted that she tried to escape but her employer forced her back into the house. They then struggled with a kitchen knife and the fight ended with her stabbing the drunken Arab to death.

Ramos immediately surrendered to the police shortly after. She was jailed at the Mamoorah Central Jail for two years before she was acquitted.

Her case was similar to that of Sarah Balabagan who, at 16, also killed her employer in 1994 for raping her.

Balabagan was first sentenced to a seven-year imprisonment but the penalty was reduced to one year. She was, however, asked to pay P1.5 million in blood money and receive 100 lashes.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said Ramos can eventually go home if her employer’s family will not file an appeal within 15 days. "If there is no appeal, she can be sent home immediately," he said.