Pretoria - A Nigerian woman has been arrested by the Lagos State police for allegedly killing her maid over a packet of instant noodles, the Daily Post reported on Thursday.
The Nigerian publication reported that the accused allegedly beat her helper to death and then hung her from the ceiling to make it seem like suicide.
The brother of the deceased told the publication that his sister had found the job through an agent.
"She started working with her as a maid in January this year. She reported that her boss refused to pay her and any time she asked for her salary, she would start beating her.
“She was making an attempt to leave, but due to the lockdown she remained there until Sunday, when her boss claimed she stole instant noodles. This led to a serious beating and her master hung her to death.
“The madam said she hung herself. How can someone hang herself and her legs will be on the ground? My sister took the job to be able to further her education," the brother was quoted as saying.
Police public relations officer in Lagos, Bala Elkana, said the accused and her husband went to Bariga police station to report that their maid had committed suicide.
It was reported that when detectives went to the scene and saw the position of the rope from which the deceased had supposedly hung herself, they suspected foul play.
“Police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of signs of violence on her body, showing that she was tortured before she put the rope around her neck.
“If it were an ordinary suicide, how come wounds and signs of beating are all over her body?" Elkana was quoted as saying.
The publication said the couple has been arrested.
In a separate incident, a Lebanese man was arrested after he announced the sale of a Nigerian woman on Facebook, Pulse Nigeria reported on Thursday.
The publication reported that the accused from Beirut posted a passport photo of the 30-year-old Nigerian woman to a Facebook group called "Buy and Sell Lebanon".
The accused placed a $1,000 (about R19,000) price on the domestic worker.