Mary* met her husband when she was 24 and fresh out of nursing school. They were married within a year, but her nightmare was to begin, just two months into their marriage.

She was three months pregnant with her first child, John*, when Jim punched her for the first time. He did not want her to give up her nursing job, even after giving birth. Even though matters calmed down, and he apologised, the abuse did not stop.

As Jim rained punches and kicks on Mary, her family also began to notice her injuries, and even got into fights with Jim and landing in jail because Jim claimed that he was assaulted by them.

Then, she became pregnant with their second child. But things with Jim had come to a head.

Mary tells Her World that she was set on fire by him one day after another of their many quarrels. Feeling frustrated in an emotionally draining relationship that saw him abuse her both physically and verbally, she found that she could not hold back her own anger, and decided to vent her feelings on him.

Besides beating her, Jim had often told Mary that he had a mistress who "prettier" than her, and that she too was carrying his son, while she was pregnant with their first son, John*.

But Mary felt that she had suffered enough when Jim's family threatened to take away her eldest son after she reported him to the police for spousal abuse.
While charges were not brought against Jim, his family felt that Mary had publicly shamed her husband. When Mary could not longer take the emotional duress, she decided to confront Jim about his womanising ways and his violent manners.

As she screamed her frustrations at him, something in Jim snapped. Mary told Her World that Jim shouted: "Why don't you just die!", before dousing her in kerosene and setting her on fire. She felt the flames on her skin and tried to run for help, but Jim locked the front door so that she could not escape, and later called his elder brother to bring her to the hospital.

Mary had to be discharged from the hospital before she was fully healed, as her family could not afford to pay for her medical bills. She eventually went to recuperate at her mother's home in Medan, where she was treated by the village doctor. But the physical damage was done, and her face and hands were scarred by third-degree burns.

When Mary tried to report her husband to the authorities three months later, they told her that it was a long time to wait before reporting a crime, and they could not do anything about it. Jim also got away because there were no witnesses at the scene. Mary says it is hopeless to expect Jim's elder brother to testify against him for her.

She told Her World: "I don't want anyone to go through what I went through."

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