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Mohon pencerahan apakah berita terlampir benar atau hanya hoax belak? Terimakasih. Faithfully Yours, Ms. Jeannie Kiagoes ________________________________ From: Diana Sabidi Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 1:51 PM Subject: Two Indonesians held Captive and Tortured for Years in Long Island, NY Kok belum ada beritanya di media lokal kita ya? Trafficking on women nih. Kasihan. <javascript:SLIDES.hotlink()> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/nyregion/16slave.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/nyregion/16slave.html> http://www.nypost.com/seven/05162007/news/regionalnews/cruel_l_i__slave_ masters_regionalnews_stefanie_cohen__kieran_crowley_and_kate_sheehy.htm? page=0 May 16, 2007 -- A "monstrous" millionaire couple from Long Island's Gold Coast kept two Indonesian women as slaves for five years in their tony estate-turned-house of horrors - until one victim was found wandering the street half-naked this week muttering, "Master," authorities said yesterday. Varsha Mahender Sabhnani and her husband, Mahender Murliddhar Sabhnani - perfume moguls from the mega-rich community of Muttontown - were hauled into federal court yesterday to face charges including beating, cutting and scalding one of the victims and committing "incomprehensible . . . inhumanity" against both. "Home, I want to go home," sobbed one of the middle-aged women, identified as "Samirah," when she was found bruised and battered at a Dunkin' Donuts on Jericho Turnpike in Syosset at around 6 a.m. Sunday. Less than a mile away, authorities said, was what had become her hell on earth: an antiques-stuffed, cedar-shakers mansion where she was beaten with brooms and rolling pins, repeatedly sliced on the ears with a paring knife, starved and forced to sleep on the kitchen floor. Varsha - a 45-year-old mother of four - was the main torturer who doled out the horrific punishment while her husband, 51, watched, officials said. The wife is Indonesian; Mahender is from India. Varsha's cruelty included forcing Samirah to take as many as 30 ice-cold showers in a row, run up and down a flight of stairs 150 times as fast as she could - and gulp down at least 25 "extremely hot chili peppers at one time," according to the arrest warrant. "The conduct the defendants committed is monstrous," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Demetri Jones. "It's truly a case of modern-day slavery." Authorities said the victims' nightmare began after they were brought to the United States by the couple to work as house servants. They were told they would be paid $200 a month, although Samirah told authorities she later learned the Sabhnanis sent only half that amount to her daughter back in Indonesia. The immigrant women arrived to find their new home, 205 Coachman Place, a sprawling, two-story manse in one of New York's most exclusive enclaves. Two large, stone statues of lions greet visitors at the driveway, a brand-new black Cadillac sits in front and a large, lagoon-like pool, waterfall and built-in stainless-steel barbecue grill grace the back yard. Their new bosses ran a multimillion-dollar business from home, peddling Royal Mirage perfume throughout the world through at least five companies. The Sabhnanis also own a $1.4 million, two-bedroom condo on Broadway in Manhattan and were known to frequently jet to such countries as Singapore, Bahrain and Australia for business and to visit family. But if the victims - ages 51 and 46 - had dreams of partaking in even a smidgen of their employers' good life, they were sorely mistaken, officials said. The Sabhnanis demanded the pair's passports as soon as they set foot in the country, the victims told authorities. They then began working 21-hour days as house servants, and when they were allowed to sleep for the remaining three hours in the day, it was on thin, 3-by-6-foot white mats on the floor of one of the home's two kitchens, the women said. Beatings were routinely administered either in the laundry room or bathroom, they said, with "a rolling pin, bamboo stick and a broomstick." Samirah said Varsha also tossed scalding water on her. The feds noted in court papers that Samirah "bears highly visible scars that appear to be permanent over much of her body. "She also has deep, open knife wounds behind her ears, which were inflicted by [Varsha]." Samirah also showed cops at the house "a door stained with [her] blood that was the result of an injury sustained during a beating" by Varsha, according to court papers. The abused women were starved to the point that they began hiding food, authorities said. The second victim, identified only as "Nona," led authorities to the spot above a drop-ceiling panel in one of the kitchens where she stashed her meager but treasured personal belongings, as well as snacks she could sneak from the kitchen. Nona told authorities she was once forced to strip naked and take as many as 10 icy showers in a row for "perceived wrongdoing." She said that at one point, Varsha warned her that if she ever tried to flee, she would "use her considerable financial resources to ensure that Indonesian police jailed [her] and [her] husband, who is in Indonesia." Whenever strangers came to the home, the terrified women said, they were ordered to hide in the basement or garage. They were allowed out only at night - to take out the garbage. After Samirah was found wandering and told authorities her tale, officials went to the house and discovered Nona cowering in a 3-by-3-foot closet under the stairwell leading to the basement. Samirah was dressed in pants and a towel, weeping and carrying two plastic bags, when Dunkin' Donuts manager Adrian Mohammed, 26, spotted her early Sunday. He said he thought she was homeless, so he gave her coffee, bagels and a jacket. Asked where she lived, she pointed to her Indonesian passport - which Varsha had allegedly returned to her after it expired - and pleaded, "Home." "She started crying," Mohammed said, and when he asked where she lived, she pointed in the direction of the Sabhnanis' home and said, "Master." "She said the word, 'Master,' then she made a motion like she was getting slapped," Mohammed said yesterday. He said she had dozens of perfectly circular bruises on her arm, like pinches. Her ears also had sores and cuts from what authorities said was more of Varsha's cruelty: nicking her with a paring knife when she was deemed particularly "bad" - suspected of stealing food because she was hungry or unable to find an item around the house. "I felt bad for the lady, so I called 911," Mohammed said. At the Sabhnanis' arraignment in Central Islip yesterday, the couple sat together - but with separate lawyers. As the pair sat down and looked back at their 22-year-old daughter in the third row, the young woman burst into tears. The couple was held without bail after Jones argued that they were an extreme flight risk, given their international connections and bank accounts. Mahender's lawyer, Charles Ross, insisted, "This is not a human-trafficking ring. My client wants to clear his name." He said the couple had been out of the country for up to 10 months at a time, leaving the alleged victims plenty of opportunity to leave the house if they wanted. [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
