Hong Kong woman gets 6 years in Indonesian maid abuse case

[webfact]

Hong Kong woman gets 6 years in Indonesian maid abuse case
KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong mother of two was given a six-year prison term Friday for abusing her Indonesian maid in a case that aroused widespread outrage over its brutality.

Law Wan-tung was sentenced after her conviction earlier this month on eight charges of assault, grievous bodily harm and criminal intimidation against 24-year-old Erwiana Sulistyaningsih in a case that highlighted the vulnerabilities of migrants working as domestic staff across Asia and the Middle East.

Law, 45, had no reaction as the sentence was handed down by District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock, who said "the seriousness of the charges and circumstances of the offences means a lengthy prison time is appropriate."

The judge fined Law 15,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,930) for 10 charges of failing to pay wages or grant time off. She had earlier pleaded guilty to one other charge of failing to buy insurance.

Sulistyaningsih's case came to light when graphic pictures of her injuries started circulating among Indonesians in Hong Kong, showing her face, hands and legs covered with scabs and lacerations, and blackened, peeling skin around her feet.

"I am so happy because finally my employer is in prison although only for six years. But for me, finally justice is delivered," Sulistyaningsih, through an interpreter, told reporters outside court.

Sulistyaningsih worked for Law, who has two teenage children, for about eight months starting in June 2013.

About half of Hong Kong's 330,000 foreign domestic helpers come from Indonesia, almost all of them female and earning a minimum wage of about $500 a month.

Court heard that Sulistyaningsih suffered broken teeth, scratches all over body and blows to her head at the hands of Law, who also jammed a metal vacuum cleaner tube into her mouth, causing her lip to bleed. On one occasion, Law also forced Sulistyaningsih to stand naked in the bathroom during winter while she splashed water on her and pointed a fan at her.

Woodcock said Law had a definite "lack of compassion" and her "contempt was reserved for those she saw as beneath her."

Sulistyaningsih was given little rest or food and at one point was so hungry that she knocked on the next door neighbor's door at 2 a.m. to beg for something to eat.

When her injuries became so severe she was unable to work, Law attempted to send her home to Indonesia with just HK$70 ($9). Law escorted Sulistyaningsih to the airport, put makeup on her injuries, made her wear an adult diaper and threatened to hurt her family, in order to reduce the risk she would get caught.

Her case only came to light when a fellow Indonesian at the airport noticed her.

The judged slammed Hong Kong government rules requiring maids to live with their employers, which she said contributed to the abuse cases that often end up in courts. She urged the Hong Kong and Indonesian governments to investigate the practice of employment agencies charging would-be migrant workers high fees for jobs overseas, which often saddles them with big debts they have to work off.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-27

[WitawatWatawit]

Amanda Woodcock gives us hope for some sanity in this world.

[Pimay1]

After living in Singapore for a year and a half this is easy to believe.

[Manbing]

I hope she enjoys every minute of it.

May she will find a soul mate who will fist her every night of the 6 years she is in pokey.

[pumpuy]

Animals are more " human " than people ...

[Prbkk]

They go in expectation of some variation of Downton Abbey and instead end up with the dragon lady from hell....happens all the time in Malaysia and Singapore...and Saudi , the worst

[ronrat]

My brother lives in Indonesia and had to sack his last maid because she was just too damn good looking. He never laid a finger on her but was threatened that if he did he would be losing his house and car.

Hope the Chinese bitch gets out and finds her husband has shacked up with something young and pretty and she can go make her own arrangements.

[NickJ]

Im just perplexed, Ignorant to the fact that there were still western Judges in HK. ....I had a clinic there in the ninties fond memories. . .remember the amahs abd how I would never hire a hot one........

[Mcffee]

Actually they should give all the assets of that evil woman to the former maid.

[bangon04]

It seems the power of social media has helped in this particular case....

[SoFarAndNear]

After living in Singapore for a year and a half this is easy to believe.

I can agree. I met a woman here in Thailand. She told me that she worked as maid in Singapore. After a while she had started relationship with one of the family members and a child was born. The family (chinese by the way) took over the child and made her leave Singapore. Now she is only every few years able to see her girl..

[SoFarAndNear]

It seems the power of social media has helped in this particular case....

Unfortunately some governments (including Thailand) are trying to restrict free social media...

[soihok]

I lived in HK for 5 years up to 2000, met a young Philippine girl who was working as a maid for an old Chinese lady.

After some time seeing her at weekends (she had a curfew) she told me that although the old lady lived alone her son used to call round often. She told me that this guy had raped her on more than one occasion at the apartment when the old lady was out.

I was shocked, shocked at the fact that she was still living with and working for this old lady (who knew nothing about it apparently).

I wanted to confront her employer and involve the cops but the girl was terrified about this (which raised doubts if she was telling the truth). She had an older daughter that was married to a HK man and they returned from the PH to live in HK about this time, thankfully the girl left the employer and moved in with the sister where her husband put up sponsorship (employer). As far as I know nothing became of the crime committed by the son.

I left for Taiwan a few months after only to return after a short period to find that my best mate and her had become an item

I did become the employer (domestic helper) of another Philippine girl during my time in HK, but this was only to enable her to stay in the country with me (girlfriend). Lots of guys were doing the same.

Thankfully, I have grown up now.

[cookee68]

This has been going on for years, people to scared to speak out will always protect these people from jail