Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

A Kuwaiti criminal court has handed the death sentence to a Filipino housemaid for the murder of her employer’s 18-month-old son, in a case that has shocked both Kuwait and the Philippines. The ruling was issued on Wednesday (September 24), following a high-profile trial that drew widespread attention in both countries. The crime occurred in December 2024 at the family’s home in Sabah Al Salem, when the maid placed the toddler inside a washing machine and switched it on. Hearing the child’s cries, his parents rushed to the scene and found him critically injured. He was taken to Jaber Al Ahmad Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. Investigators said the maid confessed to the killing, admitting she acted out of frustration because the child had been “annoying” her. Ahead of the verdict, the court ordered a psychiatric evaluation, which found her mentally fit to stand trial. The death sentence will undergo automatic review by the appeals court and later the Court of Cassation, Kuwait’s highest tribunal. The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait expressed its “heartfelt condolences and prayers to the bereaved family,” stressing that the act was an “isolated incident” that did not reflect the character of the Filipino community. The Department of Migrant Workers in Manila echoed the statement, noting that Filipinos in Kuwait are widely recognized for their “hard work, reliability, and positive contributions to society.” The case has sparked grief and outrage in Kuwait and the Philippines, with many Kuwaiti citizens taking to social media to call for stricter regulations on the hiring and oversight of domestic workers, and Filipinos calling for better treatment of household workers in Kuwait for humanitarian and mental health reasons. In 2018 and 2020, the Philippines banned worker deployment to Kuwait after a string of Filipino housemaid murders and maltreatment involving their employers. Both bans have since been lifted. ICA/Expat Media
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