By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : S. Selvi, an Indian national working as a housemaid, walked free Wednesday after the Malaysian court of appeal absolved her of the charge of killing her employer.
But by that time, she had served six years in jail.
The mother of two, who had admitted to the murder of her employer, became emotional and wept uncontrollably. With head bowed, she then clasped her hands as if in prayer and thanked the judges, NST Online reported.
Selvi, 40, had killed her woman employer, G. Rajam, an ethnic Indian.
The court dismissed prosecution appeal for enhanced sentence, accepting that she had acted in self-defence.
The murder had taken place in November 2003 following a dispute over money.
Relatively prosperous Malaysia employs millions of housemaids from South Asian countries and from neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines.
Media carries frequent tales of maids entering the country illegally and complaining of ill-treatment by employers at times leading to violence.
Nearly two million Malaysian Indians constitute about 8 percent of the population of Malaysia.