Plight of slave maid who was beaten everyday for eight months until she couldn't walk provokes outrage on the streets of Hong Kong



Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was unable to walk after 8 months of abuse

5,000 protesters marched in Hong Kong's commercial area of Wanchai

They claim the case would never go to court without a mass protest



Now a second maid claims she too was abused by the same employers

She says boss threatened to throw her off balcony making her beg for life



Thousands of domestic helpers took to the streets of Hong Kong yesterday to demand justice for an Indonesian maid who was allegedly enslaved and tortured by her employers for eight months.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was reportedly left unable to walk following eight months of abuse in the southern Chinese city and was admitted to an Indonesian hospital in critical condition last week after returning home.

Details of her torture has sparked widespread anger across Hong Kong, and yesterday a second Indonesian domestic helper came forward to claim that she had suffered similar beatings and death threats at the hands of the same employers in 2010.

Made to sleep on the floor, Erwiana said she worked 21-hour shifts, had no days off, was fed just a single bowl of rice a day and was beaten constantly, sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

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Tortured: Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was left unable to walk following eight months of abuse at the hands of her employers

Justice: Protesters on Sunday including maids, rights activists and migrant group members marched through the commercial area of Wanchai

In the final weeks of her ordeal, she said blood and puss ran from her wounds so badly that her employer complained it was staining the carpet.

Rather than take her to a doctor, she said her boss wrapped her injuries in bandages and plastic bags, but it still seeped out.

Finally, when her injuries had become so severe that she could no longer work, her boss bought her a ticket home, gave her 70 Hong Kong dollars (£5.50) and dumped her at Honk Kong airport, making her swear never to mention what had happened to her.



'She told me that she knew a lot of people in Indonesia and if I said anything she would have my parents killed,' Erwiana told Al Jazeera, surrounded by her family in a hospital bed in Sragen, Central Java.

Healing: Doctors at Amel Sehat Islamic Hospital said she is suffering from swelling of the brain from repeated blows to the head and her feet are brown and swollen with cellulitis - an infection of the skin that resulted from her long-untreated wounds

Brutal: Erwiana said her employer beat her on a daily basis with a lot of different implements, usually with the handle of her mop, mostly on her head

Doctors at Amel Sehat Islamic Hospital said she is suffering from swelling of the brain from repeated blows to the head. She also has several broken teeth, a broken nose and her hands and feet are bruised and swollen with cellulitis - an infection of the skin caused by her untreated wounds.

'When I first came to Hong Kong I thought it was a kind of luxurious place, an amazing place. But it was not the reality for me,' she added. 'She would beat me with a lot of different implements, most usually with the handle of my mop. She would hit me all over, but mostly on my head.

'I had to work for 21 hours a day. I didn't have my own room so whenever I could sleep I would sleep on the floor.



Demands: They handed a petition to Hong Kong Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hun urging faster progress in the case before marching to the city's government headquarters

'No more torture': Many of the protesters brandishing the Indonesian national flag, chanted slogans and waved banners with the words 'Justice for Erwiana'

'If [one of her two teenage] children found me sleeping when I wasn't supposed to be they'd tell her and she'd beat me again.'

Protesters on Sunday including maids, rights activists and migrant group members marched through the commercial area of Wanchai, many brandishing the Indonesian national flag and chanting slogans including 'Justice for Erwiana'.

They handed a petition to Hong Kong Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hun urging faster progress in the case before marching to the city's government headquarters.

'We want the investigation to speed up and we demand the Hong Kong government to stop abuses on domestic helpers in Hong Kong,' Eni Lestari, chairwoman of the International Migrants Alliance and rally spokeswoman, told reporters at the protest.

Also yesterday a 28-year-old maid, known only as Bunga, said she experienced ten months of abuse while working for Erwiana's alleged abuser.

'One time the employer got so angry she dragged me onto the balcony and threatened to throw me off it. She made me beg for my life,' Bunga said. 'I told her that she could beat me as much as she wanted but I went on my knees and begged her not to kill me because I had a son.'

Bunga said she was never allowed outside the Tseung Kwan O flat and would be locked inside when the family went out.

'The woman threatened to pay the Indonesian police money to kill my entire family if I talked to others about the beatings,' she said. She was eventually helped to leave by an employment agency, but the agency urged her not to press charges.

Campaign of torture: The march comes as a second Indonesian domestic helper came forward to claim that she had suffered similar beatings and death threats at the hands of the same employers in 2010

Groundswell: Organisers claimed around 5,000 people participated in the rally

'I'm speaking out now because I feel so sad I didn't do anything to help Erwiana,' she said.



The allegations have renewed concern about the treatment of domestic helpers in the former British colony following a spate of similar abuse cases and recent criticism by rights groups.

Hong Kong police had at first categorised the alleged torture as a miscellaneous case but last week launched a criminal investigation after an outcry by domestic helpers in the city.

On Friday authorities said investigators will travel to Indonesia to speak to Sulistyaningsih, who remains in hospital in Sragen on the main island of Java.

'Without this kind of protest the case of Erwiana will never go to the public or go to the court. There will be no justice,' Lestari said, adding that two other maids have since come forward alleging abuse at the hands of the same employer.

The agency that employed Erwiana has said they were unaware of her injuries until they were notified by their corresponding agency in Indonesia.

More claims: The second alleged victim claimed the employer got so angry she dragged her onto the balcony and threatened to throw her off it before making her beg for her life

Growing trend: The semi-autonomous Chinese city is home to nearly 300,000 maids from mainly Southeast Asian countries - predominantly Indonesia and the Philippines - and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing

Organisers claimed around 5,000 people participated in the rally, a sharp increase in numbers from a similar march on Thursday which drew several dozen protesters.

Hong Kong police were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.

The semi-autonomous Chinese city is home to nearly 300,000 maids from mainly Southeast Asian countries - predominantly Indonesia and the Philippines - and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

A Hong Kong couple were jailed in September for attacks on their Indonesian domestic helper, which included burning her with an iron and beatings with a bike chain.

Amnesty International in November condemned the 'slavery-like' conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian women who work in the Asian financial hub as domestic staff and accused authorities of 'inexcusable' inaction.

It found that Indonesians were exploited by recruitment and placement agencies who seize their documents and charge them excessive fees, with false promises of high salaries and good working conditions.

Domestic helpers in Hong Kong are paid about HK$4,000 (£313) a month.



