As Hong Kong reporters flock to Sragen, Indonesia, to interview abused helper Erwiana, whose case has garnered international coverage and outrage, more horrifying details of her employer’s alleged abuse have emerged.
According to Erwiana, she was severely beaten on her first day of work with a metal rod for eating a pack of crackers. She was allowed only a bowl of rice and two slices of bread per day, and locked inside the house without pay or holidays.
During her eight months of employment at the Lo family at Beverly Garden in Tseung Kwan O, she was punched in the eye, hit in the head with a metal rod, and stabbed in the mouth with a vacuum cleaner hose every single day. She has suffered permanent damage to both her eyes, all her teeth, and left ear.
She was forced to work 21 hours a day and sleep only three hours a day — when her employer saw her yawning, Erwiana was punched in the eyes, causing broken blood vessels and damaged corneas.
Once, after a beating, Erwiana bled from the left ear onto the floor and was ordered to mop it up. She was so terrified of leaking pus from her injured feet onto the floor that she wrapped her rotting feet with plastic bags, worsening the injury. One time, she managed to sneak out to call her agency, but was told to put up with the situation.
When the employer found she sneaked out, she was severely punished and told that her family will die if she calls the police.
Police went to Beverly Garden to investigate yesterday and left after staying for 30 minutes. No arrests were made.
Source: Apple Daily
Photo: Justice for Erwiana Justice for Migrant Domestic Workers Facebook
