Prabowo Hails Release of Indonesian Migrant Worker in Malaysia

Jakarta (Antara) - Retired general Prabowo Subianto had hailed Malaysian High Court's not guilty verdict of Indonesian migrant worker Wilfrida Soik of murdering her employer. "Thank God, Wilfrida has been released. Thank you for the support and prayers, Indonesian people, because without the support and prayers from all of the people this would have been impossible," Prabowo Subianto, who attended the court hearing in Kota Bahru, Malaysia, said in a statement received here on Monday. Wilfrida was acquitted of killing her Malaysian employer in 2010 and would undergo rehabilitation in a Johor hospital, Malaysia. Prabowo Subianto, the chairman of the advisory board of Great Indonesia Party (Gerindra), flew to Malaysia on Sunday, April 6, to attend the court hearing of Wilfrida, a migrant worker from Belu, in East Nusa Tenggara province. He had previously hired the prominent lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to defend Wilfrida. Coordinator of the Prabowo Media Center Budi Purnomo Karjodihardjo said Prabowo, a presidential candidate, will return home on Monday afternoon and explain the release of Wilfrida to the media upon his arrival in Jakarta. Meanwhile, New Strait Time (NST) wrote that Wilfrida Soik was found not guilty by the High Court on Monday of killing her employer in Pasir Mas in 2010 on the ground of insanity. Judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim ordered her to be detained at the Hospital Permai in Johor at the Ruler's pleasure. Wilfrida was charged with the murder of 60-year old Yeap Seok Pen at her house in Kampung Chabang Empat Tok Uban, Pasir Mas, on December 7, 2010. The accused from East Nusa Tenggara was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death sentence upon conviction. (*)