KUALA LUMPUR, DEC 9: Three Indonesian women jumped from the second floor of a three-storey building after they were held captive by an employment agent who refused to send them home, news reports said today.

The women, who jumped from the building in Penang island early yesterday morning, were found groaning in pain about seven hours later by a passer-by.They were taken to the Penang Hospital where doctors said all three had fractured their legs and two had broken their hips.

The women, aged between 19 and 21, said they had decided to return to Java after earlier being promised jobs as maids in Malaysia, but were not allowed to go home by their employment agent, whom they described as ``nasty''. ``We decided to take a chance and jumped from the 20-metre building as we dared not use the front door for fear of being stopped by a sentry,'' one of the women, identified as Hastiri, was quoted as saying.

She said after leaping from the building, they could not walk and lay helplessly until a passing motorist saw them and sent them to a nearby mosque before they were taken to hospital.

Hastiri said she came to Penang about three weeks ago after paying about 1,000 ringgit ($ 280) to a contact in Java to get a job in Malaysia.

She was taken to the building where she met the two other women.Police said they are investigating to see whether the agent had abused the women.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.