Death penalty for couple who killed Philippine aid and put in a freezer cabinet

kuwait - A court in Kuwait sentenced a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife to death in absentia for the murder of their Filipino help in the household. Newspapers in the Gulf state reported Sunday that the girl had been killed by her employers and then in the freezer. The couple then lived in Kuwait.

Only a year later the murder was discovered. Last month, Lebanese media reported that the man went to Lebanon and might be tried in his own country. His wife is fugitive. It is not known where they are staying, according to the site Arab News.

Last month, Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte called all Filipino workers back to the Philippines after the discovery of the woman in the freezer. Subsequently, Kuwait and the Philippines agreed on better working conditions for staff from the Asian country working in the Gulf.

About 250,000 Philippines work in Kuwait. It is mainly women who are active in the household as help.