Kuwait City: A Kuwaiti woman was sentenced to death after she killed a 26-year old Filipino domestic worker, Jeanelyn Villavende, local media reported.
Her husband was also convicted and was sentenced to four years for not reporting the crime and covering it up.
Fawzia Al Sabah, the Philippine Embassy’s lead council, pointed out that that the court’s ruling was fair and adhered to Kuwaiti, as well as Sharia law.
In a statement the Embassy said, “may the court’s decision on the Villavende murder case serve as a reminder to everyone that no Filipino is a slave to anyone, anywhere and everywhere, and that justice will always come to the defense of the weak and the oppressed.”
Sexually abused
Villavende was killed on December 28, 2019 and according to the autopsy report conducted at Sabah hospital found that she died due to acute failure of the heart and respiration as a result of shock and multiple injuries to the vascular nervous system. In addition, an official Philippine autopsy found that she was sexually abused before her death.
The Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary, Teddy Locsin Jr, said in a Tweet following the killing, “THERE WILL BE BLOOD @DFAPHL for Jeanelyn Villavende. I renounce & reject any offer of blood money for her torture/murder. I want two lives for the life they took.”
Kuwait denounced the remarks made by Locsin and a senior official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Kuwait expresses dismay and denunciation of this statement that includes a rejected transgression on the powers of the security and judicial authorities in the country.”
Following the killing, the Philipino government imposed a ban on the deployment of new domestic workers to Kuwait. A month later the decision was reversed after the Philipino government filed charges against the killer and the two countries decided on implementing a harmonized employment contract for Filipino domestic workers.
