Exclusive interview: I can heal Malaysian 'slave', says sister
Kamar Mautum, a retired teacher, tells The Telegraph's Dean Nelson she believes her 69-year-old sister, Aishah, is one of the women who has allegedly been held captive by the leaders of a 1970s Communist collective for 30 years
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| Malaysian Slave's Sister Kamar Mahtum |
Speaking from her home near Kuala Lumpur, Ms Mautum said her sister Aishah and her fiancรฉ, Omar Munir, moved to Britain in 1968 hoping to pursue studies and have a family.
But they arrived in London at a time of increasing social unrest with growing protests about the war in Vietnam and both were soon attracted to an organisation called the Malaysian and Singaporean Students Forum (Mass), which had a reputation as one of the more extremist Maoist groups operating in London.
She fell under the spell of Aravindan Balakrishnan and his partner Chanda, who were last week arrested on suspicion of holding three women against their will for more than three decades in south London.
A still from an ITV documentary shows Aravindan Balakrishnan being followed by two women (ITV NEWS)
A still from an ITV documentary shows Aravindan Balakrishnan being followed by two women (ITV NEWS)
Ms Mautum said her family did not approve of what she was doing and her sister did not want to have any contact with them.
"She was such a young girl. She thought she was not being loved enough," she said.
The interview came as footage unearthed by ITV News appeared to show her sister during the time it is alleged she was held captive.
Aishah and Josephine, another member of the alleged 'slavery' commune in south London, who were rescued last week, are believed to be among the same women filmed by an ITV documentary crew in 1997.
A Malaysian woman, seen closing the door at the end of the clip, is believed to be Aishah, the 69-year-old woman rescued from the alleged 'slavery' house in south London.
The documentary was about the death of Sian Davies, who died after a fall from the window of a house used by the group.
Also featured in the film was the alleged ringleader of the group, Comrada Bala, whose real name is Aravindan Balakrishnan, the man arrested as part of the current investigation.
He is seen wearing a brown jacket and blue trousers as he attends the inquest into the death of commune member Sian Davies in 1997.
This footage is the only known video of him.
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