'She threatened to throw me off the balcony': Second domestic helper alleges employee beatings

An Indonesian domestic helper who claims she worked for the employer accused of torturing Erwiana Sulistyaningsih revealed yesterday that she had suffered similar beatings and death threats in 2010.

The claims came as Hong Kong police sources revealed officers would visit Erwiana, 23, in Indonesia. A migrant workers' group working with Erwiana said her wounds were healing, though she still suffered from headaches caused by blows to the head.

At a "Justice for Erwiana" protest outside the Indonesian consulate in Causeway Bay yesterday, 28-year-old Bunga said she experienced 10 months of beatings 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 in 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.