By Tay Shi'an
The Electric New Paper, December 14, 20
HER head still bears the scars of the vicious hammer attack.
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She runs her tongue sometimes along her front teeth - she still cannot quite get used to the dentures, which she wears to hide the five teeth that were knocked out that morning.
In April, Indonesian maid Susanti, 30, was viciously attacked by her employer's estranged husband, Chen Xiangli, 41.
He then jumped out of a window in the 17th-storey flat in Eunos Crescent.
Ms Susanti lost five teeth, needed stitches on her lip, forehead and scalp from the many hammer blows, and was hospitalised for over a week.
Chen may have died eight months ago, but his actions continue to haunt her.
Since then, Ms Susanti has been in limbo, stuck in the Indonesian embassy here.
As her physical and emotional scars slowly healed, she begged to go home, but could not do so as she was a potential witness in the coroner's inquiry into Chen's death.
The case finally ended yesterday. The verdict was what Ms Susanti had expected all along: Chen had committed suicide.
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| PACKED BUT STUCK HERE: Ms Susanti couldn't go home earlier as she was then a potential witness in the coroner's inquiry into Chen's death. --TNP PICTURES: GAVIN FOO |
Shout of joy
In the end, she was not required to attend court. Ms Susanti found out about the verdict when The New Paper visited her yesterday afternoon at the embassy.
Her immediate reaction was to shout the good news to the embassy staff members, that she could finally go home.
She said: 'If tomorrow can, I want to go home tomorrow already, straight away.'
She misses her elderly parents and 9-year-old son Tegar terribly. She has not seen them in over a year, since she left her hometown in Kalimantan to work in Singapore.
When an embassy staff member told Ms Susanti they were arranging for her employer to buy a plane ticket, she immediately called her 'mum' - Chen's wife, Lydia Chen Xiu Jin, 30.
She burst into tears when Mrs Chen asked why she wanted to fly back so soon, and asked if Ms Susanti could stay with her and her 7-year-old daughter before returning to Indonesia.
Mrs Chen, who also started sobbing, said: 'We miss her, she's been inside (the embassy) for so long. Can she spend Christmas with us?'
Torn, Ms Susanti said: 'I miss her, and I love her, but I want to faster go home. My son...'
Ms Susanti had told The New Paper after the attack that she could have escaped that fateful morning, but she was afraid Chen would kill Mrs Chen, whom she described as a wonderful employer.
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| AT LAST: When Ms Susanti found out about the verdict from The New Paper, she shouted out the good news to embassy staff members, that she could go home. |
So she stayed to help her and her daughter, but was dragged in and attacked instead.
'Mum' so nice
Over the past eight months, Mrs Chen and her daughter have visited her about once a month at the embassy, bringing her food and clothes.
Ms Susanti said: 'She's so good. This is the first time I got a mum so nice.'
She had previously worked as a maid in Taiwan and Malaysia.
Ms Susanti said that during one of the visits, Mrs Chen told her they had no place to live, as loan sharks were harassing them at their former home.
'Poor thing, no house. She hugged me and cried,' the maid said, adding that Mrs Chen had asked if she would still like to work for her. She declined, as it brought back too many bad memories.
Mrs Chen also paid the $280 for Ms Susanti's dentures.
When The New Paper spoke to Mrs Chen last night, she said she felt bad about what her late husband had done to Ms Susanti.
As for her many visits to see her former maid, she said it was because 'we are close like sisters'.
Mrs Chen did not attend the coroner's inquiry as she wanted to 'leave all the bad things' in the past.
The New Paper also visited Ms Susanti regularly at the embassy during her long wait - through her 30th birthday in May, and Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji.
She was already packed and waiting to leave.
Till today, Ms Susanti has not told her family what happened so as not to worry them - they only know she had 'some problems' and is at the embassy, and that she would be going home 'soon'.
Ms Susanti said it was hard for her to sleep at night in the weeks after the attack. Images of the attack would flash through her mind.
To combat her homesickness and take her mind off her ordeal, Ms Susanti channelled her energy the only way she knew how - working.
She would volunteer to take over other people's duties from the cooking and cleaning roster for the more than 100 maids staying at the embassy.
She proved to be such a good worker that she was entrusted to clean and cook in a special residence for high-ranking visitors within the embassy grounds.
Strong
Mr Fahmi Aris Innayah, second secretary at the Indonesian embassy, said: 'We trust her... Susanti has the ability to work.'
Only Ms Susanti and one other woman were chosen.
Sometimes, the visitors would give them tips, which Ms Susanti really appreciated. She had been in Singapore for less than a year before the attack.
After paying off the agent fees, she was left with only two months' salary - about $640.
Madam Ida Mustapa, an embassy staff member, said: 'Susanti is very strong. Despite her condition, she still wants to work.'
Ms Susanti said she intends to take a break back at home, before deciding on where to work next.
Is she scared?
'No, I have to work to support my family,' she said.
For now, her greatest hope is just to go home and see her son's face again.
DURING EX-EMPLOYMENT'S VISIT
'Poor thing, no house. She hugged me and cried.'
- Ms Susanti, of Mrs Chen, who told her loansharks were harassing them at their former home
IN AUGUST
'Why so long, I don't understand. (Chen) died, case closed.'
- She was packed and waiting to go back
YESTERDAY
'If tomorrow can, I want to go home tomorrow already, straight away.'
- After she was told yesterday she could go home
