Pregnant Hong Kong maid missing after telling friends she ‘planned to join IS in Syria’
Pregnant Indonesian helper working in HK borrowed cash and spoke of joining husband
A heavily pregnant Indonesian maid working in Hong Kong is missing after allegedly telling a friend she planned to go with her husband to link up with Islamic State militants in Syria.
The 25-year-old, known to friends in the city as Najma, borrowed a sum from another maid and allegedly left Hong Kong for Syria on February 27, according to Romlah Rosedah, chairwoman of the Indonesian Migrant Muslim Alliance.
"She told our mutual friend that she would pay her back once she arrived in Syria. The friend said [Najma] was going there with her husband to join Islamic State and she would return the money when she was there," said Rosedah, who had met Najma before and recently talked to the mutual friend who lent Najma money. The alliance is a well-established group representing nine domestic helpers' organisations in Hong Kong.
Rosedah cautioned that she had no firm evidence Najma, who is seven months pregnant, had gone to Syria. However, Najma had previously asked her how to travel to the country.
"One day [in July] she asked me how to get to Syria. I told her that Syria had no diplomatic representatives in Hong Kong," Rosedah told the .
The maid who lent Najma money had also left Hong Kong. Her contract was due to expire next month, Rosedah said.
"There has been talk among the domestic helpers about investigations for involvement in IS," Rosedah said. "We hope if our helpers are not doing anything wrong, no harm will come to them."
Rafail Walangitan, an Indonesian consular official in the city, said he did not know of any maid from Hong Kong going to Syria. "There were several cases of Indonesians going to Syria from Indonesia … but we haven't heard about them going there from Hong Kong," he said.
Going directly to Syria from Hong Kong would be impossible for an Indonesian, he added, since the visa required could not be issued in the city.
He said he would investigate the claims about Najma, adding that he had been in close contact with the Hong Kong police and Immigration Department.
The claims follow a report in a Chinese-language newspaper last week that a group called the Mujahiddah of Islam Hong Kong was recruiting for IS. The report showed a leaflet promoting a prayer meeting on a Sunday that featured what appeared to be the IS flag.
The prayer meeting was later cancelled, and the group behind it insisted that the "flag" was in fact a common Muslim symbol.
Leung Hing-ki, chairman of the Hong Kong TKI Association, which co-sponsored the cancelled prayer meeting, said he had not heard of any Indonesian maids joining IS. "Indonesians are very gentle people. Hong Kong people should not be worried about this. I have my doubts that she [Najma] really went to Syria," he said.
A police source said there had been more intelligence exchange with foreign consulates and the force's counterparts since the reports last week.
A police spokesman reiterated that there was no intelligence so far to indicate the city was a possible target for attacks.
Eman Villanueva, of the Asia Migrants' Coordinating Body, said his group would investigate the claims. "Hong Kong people do not need to be unnecessarily worried," he said.
More than 20,000 foreign fighters are thought to have joined IS, which controls large tracts of Syria and Iraq despite counterattacks and US bombing raids. Just over 500 are from Indonesia, reported this month, while hundreds of Chinese Muslims have also signed up.
