‘I still have the scars’: Indonesian maid Erwiana attends Hong Kong documentary screening, describes new life as university student
She tells the Post she now champions the rights of foreign domestic workers without fear
Two years after she was kicked out of the Tsueng Kwan O home that haunted her for eight dark months, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is prevailing over the terror her ex-employer put her through.
While the former Indonesian domestic worker has already forgiven her former employer Law Wan-tung, the harm Law inflicted on her is still all too visible.
“I still have problems breathing. I cannot go swimming because I cannot get water into my ears. And I still have the scars. I need to see the doctor from time to time,” Erwiana, 23, told the Post yesterday. “I hope she realises what she has done to me. I have forgiven her already but she deserved to be punished.”
Erwiana employer ‘so broke’ from civil claim she needs legal aid for appeal, court hears
In January 2014, Erwiana was spotted by another Indonesian domestic worker at Hong Kong International Airport with bruises all over her body. After abusing her for the eight long months she worked in Hong Kong, Law put her on a flight back to Indonesia.
At the time, Erwiana had become a shadow of her former self – losing half of her weight and tipping the scales at just 25kg.
During Law’s trial at District Court, Erwiana told the court her former employer had shoved a metal tube from a vacuum cleaner into her mouth; stripped her naked in the bathroom before spraying her with cold water and making her stand in front of a fan for up to two hours.
Law was eventually jailed for six years.
Erwiana came back to Hong Kong for a screening on Sunday of a documentary by independent producer Gabriel Ordaz. The film follows the plight of domestic workers in the city, including Erwiana.