THE Indonesian maid reacted badly to her employer's scolding.

She was so angry, she allegedly used a wooden chair, a kitchen knife and even a stone pestle to attack her Malaysian employer, Madam Peng Jian Fang, 42, while she was asleep.

After that, the maid allegedly messed up the house to make it look as if a burglary had taken place, and left the house to pick up Madam Peng's sons from kindergarten.

The attack took place on Thursday at about 11am in Madam Peng's home in Penang, reported China Press. She was asleep after working the night shift at a factory.

Madam Peng needed 100 stitches after surviving the attack. She avoided a worse fate after locking herself in the bedroom.

She told reporters that she woke up in pain when the maid allegedly hit her with a wooden chair.

While trying to ward off the blows, she asked the maid why she was attacking her. The maid allegedly said: 'Because you scolded me! I must kill you!'

Madam Peng claims: 'I tried to calm her down, but the maid said she wasn't afraid of going to jail, because she would kill herself after she was done with me.'

By this time, Madam Peng was bleeding profusely from the neck. But the maid didn't let up. She allegedly grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slashed Madam Peng's neck.

'I couldn't fight back, so I played dead,' said Madam Peng. 'But she then took a pestle and hit me with it.'

The maid allegedly continued to pummel Madam Peng, fracturing a rib and the back of her head. The attack also caused bleeding in her left lung.

Madam Peng eventually managed to ward off the maid's attacks and locked the bedroom door.

She said she was lucky that the maid did not try to force the door open. Instead, she started throwing things about and then left the house to pick up Madam Peng's 6-year-old twins.

'I was so afraid that she would harm my sons,' said Madam Peng. 'I was very badly hurt, but I knew I had to get help from the neighbours quickly and call the kindergarten so they could stop the maid from taking the kids home.

'The neighbours saw me and called for an ambulance, and contacted the police and my husband.'

At about 12.15pm, the maid arrived home with the boys. When confronted by the neighbours and Madam Peng, the maid calmly replied that it must have been a burglary.

Madam Peng said she was so blood-stained that her sons couldn't recognise her. She was then taken to hospital.

Scolding not severe

She had told her maid off for not following instructions the night before. She said the maid ate a bowl of bee hoon soup that she had left for her sons.

'My sons can't take spicy food, so I told the maid to eat the curry noodles my husband had brought home,' said Madam Peng. 'But she finished the entire bowl of bee hoon soup.'

Madam Peng claimed the scolding wasn't a severe one and that the maid never heeded her advice whenever she made a mistake. The maid just walked off.

She said that the maid had been working for her for almost two years, and she was supposed to return to Indonesia in June.

She claimed that the maid had declared herself to be 21 years old when she was actually only 18, but she did not pursue this further. Madam Peng also alleged she found some of her money missing with the maid around.

The maid has been detained by police for investigations.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Feb 28, 2009.