An Indonesian maid reportedly told a Hong Kong court of the abuse and torture that she endured by her employer, who used a vacuum cleaner tube in the woman’s mouth to cause lacerations, broadcaster RTHK stated.
The recent report of the woman’s abuse in Hong Kong comes months after an incident in which an Indonesian woman was reportedly put on death row in Saudi Arabia for admitting to killing her female employer who tried to attack her, according to CNN.
Unlike the case involving the Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih’s employer Law Wan-tung, reportedly faces 21 charges, including inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault and criminal intimidation.
The abuse that the 23-year-old maid endured went beyond the torture involving the vacuum, as the domestic helper was reportedly punched, slapped, kicked and beaten unconscious as well. Sulistyaningsih was reportedly forced to sleep on the floor and could only rest between 1p.m. to 5p.m after working 20 hours a day.
She was reportedly only given three to six pieces of bread and a bowl of rice to eat each day.
Sulistyaningsih reportedly described an incident when she was punished for dozing off during work.
“I was taken to the bathroom and she took off all my clothes and she sprayed cold water on me,” stated Sulistyaningsih.
She was reportedly not allowed to put her clothes back on, and her employer switched on an electric fan and pointed it at her for hours before she was allowed to dress herself.
The trial, which featured pictures of Sulistyaningsih’s bruised body, has sparked international outrage regarding the treatment of maids in the Asian financial center, according to Reuters.
As details of the horrific abuse the Indonesian woman had to endure continues to surface, Amnesty International reportedly issued a public statement in June during Hong Kong government to take immediate action to “end the widespread abuse and exploitation of migrant domestic workers.”