PHL embassy in KSA searching for OFW who cried 'rape'

Philippine officials in Saudi Arabia have begun searching for an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who went missing after claiming that her employer raped her. Charge d'affaires Ezzedin Tago said the maid, who was not named, had been living with six other runaway maids in Majmaa in Riyadh province. “She called me a few nights back to report that she, an Indian woman, and a Pakistani driver named Arshad had left Majmaa and was already at the Diriyah police station in Riyadh," Tago said in an interview posted on news site Arab News Thursday. The Filipino worker reportedly sent a text message to Arab News indicating her location and the news agency forwarded it to the Philippine embassy. Tago asked Vice Consul Roussel Reyes to dispatch an embassy team to assist the supposed victim. However, Reyes said the team he had sent did not find the Filipina or the companions she claimed she was with. “In fact, we think that they were somewhere in Naseem," Reyes said, adding that the Filipina also asked him to help the Indian woman who was with her. However, Reyes said when he tried to call her back, the phone was already turned off. Embassy officials said they would seek the help of local authorities in Riyadh and Majmaa to find the Filipina, the Indian woman, and Arshad. Earlier, the Filipina called Arab News to say Arshad was supposed to drop her in Riyadh. From there, the Filipina intended to go to Bahay Kalinga, a temporary shelter run by the Filipino community for runaway maids. The Filipina was recruited from the Philippines last year to work as a caregiver in Saudi but ended up working as a maid. – VVP, GMANews.TV