What happened to this Filipino in abroad was hell. Fortunately, he survived the maltreatment and saved his life without physically fighting back his Saudi Arabian attacker.
A Filipino Overseas Worker(OFW) in Saudi Arabia was reportedly beaten by his employer for unknown reasons. The victim was repeatedly hit causing dozen of bruises all over his body and a swollen face.
The 58-year-old Filipino victim is Mensias Hernandez. He could be hardly identified after the traumatic incident because of the wounds he sustained on his face. When he narrated the case to the journalists, his face was still apparently deformed due to the large swollen section. Here's the photo that has gone viral on social media and fueled anger to other OFWs in Saudi Arabia.
According to the story he shared to the media, Hernandez said he could not explain the motive behind the assault. As far as what he can remember, the suspect suddenly approached him who immediately punched him on the face and all around his body. Due to age, he wasn't able to escape from several hard strikes but fortunately he managed to escape from the scene. Luckily the OFW victim was also able to seek refuge from kind Filipinos living in the area who later helped him to file charges against his own employer.
In a certain news report released by ABS-CBN news, the Saudi Arabian suspect is allegedly an arrogant and influential cop. There were similar unreported cases which occurred many times in the business establishment of the suspect, but no one dared to file a case against the attacker. From the same publication, another Filipino employee was reportedly beaten two weeks ago. The second victim was identified as Joy del Monte, the manager of the car workshop where Hernandez was working as tinsmith.
Three other OFWs working in the said car shop purportedly joined the fight of Mensias and Joy after they learned the situation. All five of them decided to terminate their job contacts with the abusive Saudi Arabian employer. However, they are demanding the release of their passports with exit visas, plane tickets, and salary payment.
Meanwhile, the unidentified Saudi Arabian suspect was only jailed for one day. Despite the move of the five Filipino employees, there are still seven remaining OFWs who opted to continue their job contracts under the management of the assailant.