KUWAIT CITY, July 21: Norhaisa Andaw, the Filipina who was allegedly murdered by her Egyptian husband recently inside a beauty parlor in Jabriya where she was working, had   been trying  since long to divorce the latter due to the maltreatment and physical abuse she was suffering , according to co-workers of the victim.

This was gathered during a questioning of two of the victim’s co-workers Wednesday by the Public Prosecutor, according to Vice Consul Rea Oreta of the Philippine Embassy who was present and following up the case along with that of the other Filipina, Asria Samad Abdul who was allegedly tortured and subsequently murdered by her Kuwaiti employers.

According to their testimony, the victim used to complain of constant beatings by her husband, apparent from the visible welts and bruises they saw on her when she came to work, and reportedly confided to them she was intent on getting out of the abusive relationship by divorcing her husband, but was, each time, prevailed upon to settle their dispute amicably by the killer’s relatives, for the sake of their children.
The husband, an Egyptian national named Atallah Mohammed, is reportedly jobless and has no residence visa.

According to Oreta, the Public Prosecution has assured her they are trying to speed up their investigation of both the cases since the perpetrators are already in custody, and will submit them as early as next week to the court. She added that the Philippine Embassy has already received a directive from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila to hire the services of local lawyers to assist in prosecuting the case to obtain justice for the two murdered Filipinas.

“We are going to demand justice and seek the maximum penalty against those responsible for their tragic deaths,” says Vice Consul Rea Oreta in voicing out her sentiments.
The DFA reportedly also has undertaken efforts to contact the family of Norhaisa Andaw.
Meanwhile, the office of the Labor Attache at the Philippine Embassy informed the Arab Times that a representative of the recruitment agency in the Philippines responsible for the deployment to Kuwait of Asria Samad Abdul, the Filipina maid who was murdered by her employers, has approached them and offered to shoulder all expenses for the repatriation of her remains back to the Philippines and contribute as well to the fund that will go towards the prosecution of her case.