KUALA LUMPUR - A MALAYSIAN court on Friday sentenced an Indonesian domestic worker to seven months jail for sending prank text messages to the parents of a missing girl, state media reported.

Sudarwanti, a 27-year old maid, pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal intimidation after sending false information to the family of five-year old Sharlinie Nashar, the official Bernama news agency said.

She went missing on Jan 9 while at a playground 200 metres from her home in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

She has not been found despite a nationwide search.

Sudarwanti, who goes by a single name, sent the messages to draw attention to her desire to return home to Indonesia as she could not bear the heavy workload, her counsel told the court.

Malaysia is home to about 300,000 foreign domestic workers who are mostly from Indonesia.