An Indonesian maid detailed the torture she endured at the hands of her employer this week in a Hong Kong court, accusing the housewife of shoving a vacuum cleaner tube in her mouth and breaking her teeth.
The case has drawn international attention to the treatment of
domestic workers in Hong Kong, Reuters reported.
Former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has even come forward and called the treatment of 23-year-old Erwiana Sulistyaningsih "torture."
The employer, Law Wan-tung, has pleaded not guilty to charges including inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault, and criminal intimidation.
Sulistyaningsih claims she endured abuse — including being punched, slapped, kicked, and beaten unconscious — and was forced to work for 20 hours a day, sleeping only between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. She was given only three to six pieces of bread and a
bowl of rice each day, CNN reported.
The maid was assaulted with a mop, ruler, and coat hangers, and once pulled off a ladder, prosecutors said.
"She often punched my eyes and I was shocked. And she kept on punching and punching me," Sulistyaningsih said, according to CNN.
She said she was punished for falling asleep during work by being stripped naked, sprayed with cold water, and then made to sit with a fan directed at her for hours before she was allowed to dress.
Sulistyaningsih returned to Indonesia in January and was admitted to the
hospital in critical condition, BBC reported.
Images of her bruised body sparked international outrage.
Defense lawyers said Sulistyaningsih’s claims of torture were deliberately vague, untrue, or a
gross exaggeration, the Hong Kong Standard reported.
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