An Indonesian woman who has been forced to endure an abusive marriage for more than a decade has finally laid a complaint with police after she was attacked and tortured for 12 hours for failing to serve her husband a glass of water with his meal.
Masriah, 35, the fourth wife of Zainuddin, 55, said that from the beginning of her marriage in 2000, her husband had demanded he be treated like a king, Kompas.com reported.
“I have to sit on my knees and bow to him every morning, including whenever I want to go out,” The East Javanese woman told the news portal.
A failure to do so, she said, would result in heavy beating.
Masriah, who lives in the village of Banasere next to her husband’s other wives, said she had previously been too afraid to report Zainuddin to the police because of her concerns for their eight-year son.
That changed on Sunday when her relatives confronted her about the bruising on her face and she confessed to the violence she was subjected to, including the latest incident in which she was subjected to sustained abuse on Friday.
“He beat me when I forgot to bring his drink when I served him breakfast,” Kompas.com reported Masriah as saying.
She said he began yelling at her and accused her of being unfaithful and unwilling to serve him.
“But when I apologized, my husband pushed me until I fell on my face,” she said.
She said that when she attempted to rise to kneel to beg for forgiveness, here husband pulled her by the hair, struck her in the face and kicked her until she passed out.
The beating continued despite attempts by Zainuddin’s other wives and children to save her.
When neighbors attempted to intervene, the enraged man placed a sword to his wife’s neck and demanded they back away.
“I can no longer take the abuse and torture,” she was quoted as saying. “I beg the police to arrest my husband.”
Pamekasan Police chief of detectives Adjutant Comr. Nuramin said he had questioned a number of witnesses.
He said if the accusation was proven, he would be charged with domestic violence charges that carry a maximum sentence of five years in jail.
JG
do 24 feb 2011 - 20:37