Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The
District Court of Hong Kong has sentenced Law Wan-tung to six years in prison, for
beating and torturing her Indonesian maid.
In 2013 the case first came to light highlighting the actual situation of migrants in the
Territory . The judge who sentenced her, Amanda Woodcock, explained that the woman's
attitude was "regrettable" and pointed out that the Law "has not
shown any compassion" for her victims. In addition, she called on the
authorities of the former British colony and those of Jakarta to investigate
the agencies that traffic human beings.
The story
of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23 triggered a wave of global outrage and
has turned the spotlight on the real situation of the approximately 300
thousand migrants from different parts of Asia, who enter the territory in
search of work. These people suffer abuse while still in their country of
origin, which they can only leave through "specialized agencies" and
then only to end up in a nightmare of unpunished crimes and slavery.
The woman was hospitalized in January 2014 in a hospital in Central Java: her body bore the marks of cuts, burns and bruises of varying gravity that were inflicted by her former employer. Her health conditions have improved, but she was bed bound for a considerable period and then confined to a wheelchair. During the trial, the defense argued that Erwiana "is an opportunist who procured the wounds to cover her clumsiness and now wants her employers to pay".
Judge Woodcock found Erwiana was "too simple" to
lie about the abuse she suffered, including the time Law twisted a metal tube
from a vacuum cleaner in the maid's month, causing cuts to her lips. For this
particular assault, Law was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm
with intent, the most serious charge of all.
Speaking
outside court, Erwiana said she was not fully satisfied with the length of
Law's "light" jail term but was pleased that she was going to prison. She said
that the six-year sentence suggested the government tolerated slavery and
maltreatment of migrant workers. "And that's not good."