KUWAIT CITY, May 30: A Filipina household service worker who was earlier reported in the papers this weekend to have died, after another Asian maid who worked with her in the same house in Sabahiya allegedly stabbed her to death, turned out to be alive and the prime suspect in the killing of her colleague.

The Head of the Assistance to Nationals Unit (ATNU) at the Philippine Embassy, Dalidig Ibrahim Tanandato  told the Arab Times on Monday that after the news on the death of a Filipina maid came out in the papers last weekend, they immediately went to the Sabahiya Police Station to check on the report upon the instruction of Philippine Ambassador Shulan Primavera, however, they found the Filipina household service worker to be alive and detained in the Sabahiya Police Station for allegedly killing her Indian colleague. The suspect was identified as Mona Ali Mohammad, 34, single and a native of Cotabato City in Southern Philippines.

“We were given permission by the police authorities to talk to her for about 15 minutes and she recounted to us what exactly happened between her and the victim. It all started with an altercation over the Holy Quran recitation being played by the suspect on her DVD player which irritated her Indian colleague,” he stated. 

According to the suspect’s narrative, every time she played the  Quranic verses on her DVD player, the victim got irritated and berated her and on May 24 at around 8:00 am, she got fed up after an argument with the latter. “After a verbal tussle, they had a physical fight and according to Mohammad, she got a rope to tie the victim on the neck but the Indian maid was bigger than her and when Mohammad was pushed by the victim to the wall, she was able to grab the fan knife that she was keeping in her room to peel fruits and stabbed the victim several times,” informed Tanandato.

He added that the suspect maintained that she did that in self-defense and had no intention of killing her colleague. Moreover, the suspect pointed out that she did that to defend her religion as the victim allegedly hurled invectives at her every time she plays the Quranic verses on her DVD player.
Mohammad had been working in that household for three years while the victim just started working in that household this year. “The Philippine embassy has dispatched lawyer Ayed Al-Subaie to assist the suspect at the Sabahiya Police Station. The preliminary investigation is still ongoing and we have not received the forensic report. Mohammad was brought to the Ahmadi Prosecution Office for fingerprinting,” he added.

Tanandato disclosed that the Philippine Embassy has already requested the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila for legal assistance fund and they are also looking into the possibility of seeking the services of other lawyers considering the gravity of the case. “The embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Primavera will exhaust all legal means to defend the suspect and ensure her rights,” he stressed.