DFA denies Pinay's death sentence upheld in Kuwait

Idan Tejano and Marjana Sakilan: Their cases are being heard in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The public aspect of the cases are being tried in the Jeddah Grand Court and the private aspects are being promulgated by the Supreme Judicial Cases.

Rodelio Lanuza: The public aspect of his case is pending at the Dammam Grand Court .

Edison Gonzales, Eduardo Arcilla, and Rolando Gonzales: They were part of the en masse arrest of 72 Filipino workers in April 2006. Their cases are being reviewed by the Tameez Court in Saudi Arabia .

Nelson Diana: He is detained, and his case is being heard by the Malaysian High Court. -GMANews.TVMANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday denied reports that a court in Kuwait upheld the death sentence of a Filipino housemaid convicted for murdering her employer's daughter.

Esteban Conejos Jr, DFA undersecretary for migrant workers’ affairs, told GMANews.TV in a text message that the death sentence of Jakatia Mandon Pawa is still on appeal.

GMANews.TV quoted a report from Kuwait-based newspaper Arab Times that Kuwaiti Court of Appeals Judge Mohammed Bu Slaib upheld the guilty verdict of a lower court on Pawa.

Pawa, who is from Zamboanga del Norte, was accused of stabbing to death her employer's 21-year-old daughter.

News reports from Kuwait said that the incident happened while the victim was sleeping at dawn of May 14, 2007 in the Al Qurain district, south of Kuwait City.

Reports said that after the alleged attack, Pawa jumped from the second floor of her employer's house and got seriously injured. She was admitted at the intensive care unit of a hospital, and stayed there for several days.

"God knows I didn't do anything," Pawa said in Filipino in an exclusive interview with GMA News earlier this month.

Pawa, however, refused to talk further in fear that it might jeopardize the embassy's moves to appeal for her case.

While defense lawyers demanded that she be examined by psychiatrists to determine her mental health, the court reportedly turned down the request.

Pawa is among the many Filipinos facing the death sentence in the oil-rich country.

In December 2007, Filipino maid Marilou Ranario was also sentenced to death for killing her employer, but the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah commuted the sentence to life after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited the country where more than 73,000 Filipinos work, mostly as housemaids.

In April this year, the Kuwaiti Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against May Vecina for killing the seven-year old son of her Kuwaiti employer and attempting to kill the victim's elder sister and brother. But the emir on July 8 also commuted Vecina's death conviction to life. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV

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