Saudi police free Sri Lankan maid from virtual prison :: Arab News

Quoting:

A Sri Lankan housemaid who essentially had been imprisoned and unpaid by her sponsor for the last six years will be heading home soon thanks to the detective work of Saudi police.
. . .
Shanthi Menike had no complaints of ill-treatment; however, she said her sponsor once tried to assault her when she tried to flee the house. “I had enough food to eat, and there was no harassment whatsoever. But the workload was heavy since there were 10 children in the family,” she said.

Throughout the six-year period, the sponsor paid her only SR4,000 in cash and purchased her gifts worth SR3,000, which she wants to retain. After deducting these payments, she said her sponsor is in arrears to her in the amount of SR22,000. . . . After police mediation, the sponsor has agreed to pay SR9,000 within a week. The balance SR13,000 is to be paid within three months from the date of the maid’s repatriation to Colombo.
. . .
More than 70 percent of the 350,000 Sri Lankan workers in the Kingdom are housemaids.

1US$ = 3.7573 SR.