THE NEW STRAITS TIMES , 2007/06/17 She was so desperate to run away By : Fay Angela D’cruz   Firemen examining the knotted pieces of knotted cloth that Shamelin used as a rope, which could have got her down to the seventh floor. KUALA LUMPUR: An Indonesian maid, after allegedly suffering from months of abuse, tried to escape through the window of a 15th floor condominium in Sentul yesterday. Mattresses are hurriedly placed on the ground floor for fear that to provide some safety measure in case Shamelin falls off the building. Shamelin with bruises on her face and neck. The maid, identified as Shamelin, 33, had fashioned a rope with pieces of cloth tied together and used it to climb down the Tamarind Condominium in Sentul East at 11am. However, she got cold feet as she descended to the 12th floor. "I stopped at the 12th floor after I looked down and realised how high up I was," she said after being rescued by firemen. Residents at the condominium, who saw Shamelin hanging from a rope, alerted firemen who were in the building for a drill. Shamelin, from Sumatra, alleged her employer had abused her since she started work five months ago. "My employer is a woman in her 30s and I live alone with her in the unit on the 15th floor," she said. "She has a bad temper. She tries to strangle me. If I make a mistake, she will starve me. She has hurt me so many times by beating me." Shamelin, who was in tears, said she could not bear the treatment any more and decided to run away. Her employer was not at home at the time of the incident. Shamelin said her employer would always lock her in when she went out. "All I want now is to return home." Sentul police chief ACP K. Kumaran said a statement had been taken from Shamelin.