Laura Bashraheel
JEDDAH: A DNA test has proved that the child born to an Indonesian maid who claimed she was raped is that of her alleged 18-year-old Saudi attacker.
The 25-year-old maid alleged that the youth, who was 17 at the time, raped her in early 2007 while she worked for his family, a claim that was previously rejected by the family and the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) in Riyadh.
Nasser Al-Dandani, a lawyer representing the Indonesian Embassy, said he now hopes the case would be reopened.
"We sent a letter to the Human Rights Commission which helped to prove the child's parenthood ... we are now waiting for the final verdict after we proved that the child is the youth's son," said Al-Dandani, adding that the HRC and its Chairman Turki Al-Sudairi have been very sympathetic and cooperaative.
The maid's ordeal began when she ran away from her abusive sponsor and sought shelter at the Office for Maid's Affairs with the help of a taxi driver. At the door of the shelter she was met by the 17-year-old youth's family who convinced her to come and work for them.
After two months, the family's eldest son allegedly raped the maid, who then ran away and took shelter at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, which helped her file a case at the city's Al-Naseem police station.
The case was then transferred to BIP, which detained the son for a few days for questioning. The youth denied the accusations and was subsequently released.
The bureau then decided to close the case claiming "lack of evidence."
The maid, however, sought the help of the National Society for Human Rights.
Arab News reported in August that the maid, who was six months pregnant at the time, wanted to establish the fatherhood of her unborn child before returning to her home country. She is now at the Indonesian Embassy with her baby.
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