KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Indonesian maid Siti Hajar Sadli, who was allegedly abused by her employer more than two months ago, yesterday returned home for the first time in more than three years.

Siti, 33, who boarded a flight to Bandung at 2pm, earlier said at the Indonesian embassy here that she was happy to be returning to her home in Garut, West Java.

She is looking forward to seeing her 11-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter who are being taken care of by her parents.

"I cannot wait to meet my parents and four siblings. The first thing I will do is hug them," said Siti, a divorcee.

She said she received RM17,000 (S$6973) in backdated salary, which was paid by a family member of her 43-year-old former employer.

"The money will be used for my children. I will also build our family dream house," Siti said, adding that she had no qualms about returning to Malaysia to work as a maid again.

The case of Siti's alleged abuse by her employer had caused public outrage, leading to Indonesia temporarily halting the sending of domestic helpers to Malaysia.

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Tan Sri D'ai Bachtiar said medical bills and other expenses related to Siti would be borne by the embassy.