Domestic helper reportedly beaten to death in Irbid

AMMAN — Irbid police on Saturday were questioning a woman who allegedly beat her Indonesian domestic helper to death over the weekend, official sources said.

The suspect, who was not identified, allegedly hit the victim, who was in her 30s, to discipline her, and she died on Thursday, a senior official source said.

The source would not elaborate on the incident, only saying that police are investigating the case.

A post-mortem examination conducted by a team of pathologists at the Irbid National Institute of Forensic Medicine (INIFM) headed by Ali Shotar, concluded that the victim died of a brain haemorrhage, a medical source said.

“The pathologist detected bruises on different parts of her body that were caused by a blunt object,” the medical source told The Jordan Times.

The victim’s body will remain at INIFM until receiving instructions from the Indonesian embassy in Amman, according to the source.

“The Indonesian embassy in Amman was notified about the incident and we are waiting for instructions to hand over the body,” he added.

An official from the Indonesian embassy in Amman told The Jordan Times that a team from the embassy was sent to Irbid, some 80km north of Amman, Saturday evening to follow up on the case.

“We have no information about the incident and we are certain that the Jordanian authorities will cooperate with our team to learn more about what happened to our national,” the embassy official said.

The suspect was ordered detained by the Criminal Court prosecutor at a women’s correctional and rehabilitation centre pending further investigation, a judicial source said.