Hong Kong woman who abused Indonesian maid Erwiana tells court she was bullied in jail
Law Wan-tung, 44, fails bid to challenge Legal Aid Department’s refusal to assist her in overturning conviction
The employer jailed for abusing Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih told a court she was framed, adding that she had been subject to bullying by other prisoners.
Law Wan-tung, 44, insisted she had been set up by Erwiana, other Indonesian maids and the domestic worker rights groups who have been supporting them, resulting in a six-year jail sentence for her.
Law, who was earlier represented by lawyers, broke her silence today for the first time when she made a teary submission to the court in person. She had previously been given a permission to challenge the Legal Aid Department’s refusal to grant her assistance in a judicial review, in her bid to overturn her conviction.
Law, who said she had run out of money and sold her mortgage, contested the decision in the Court of First Instance on Thursday.
READ MORE: Ex-Hong Kong employer of abused Indonesian maid Erwiana can seek review of legal aid ruling
Over the past year, Law said, she had been bullied and threatened in jail by fellow inmates, but her complaints went unheard because she had not been physically assaulted. She said she was also accused of taking drugs.
“They said they wouldn’t offer help unless I was beaten up,” she said, recalling what staff in jail allegedly told her.
Law was earlier convicted of 18 of 20 charges, eight of which accused the mother of two of assaulting and criminally intimidating Erwiana and another Indonesian maid, Tutik Lestari Ningsih.
The court earlier heard she twisted a metal tube from a vacuum cleaner in Erwiana’s month, causing cuts to her lips, and punched her so hard that her incisor teeth were fractured.
READ MORE: Erwiana sues ex-employer again for changing deeds to her flat to avoid compensation
On Thursday, prosecutors argued that the court should set aside the permission for Law’s challenge.
“I wouldn’t have to come here if the Legal Aid Department had approved my application in the first place,” she told judge Madam Justice Queeny Auyeung Kwai-yue.
“They deprived me of a chance to appeal. I have not done anything,” she also said.
But Auyeung said all appellants who failed to obtain approval from the Legal Aid Department should first ask judges from the Court of Appeal, who had the authority to override the director of Legal Aid.
She said she had granted the permission earlier because she was misled by Law’s previous lawyer.
She quashed the permission on Thursday after she ruled that Law had not exhausted all means to apply for legal aid before launching her review.
Law can still apply for legal aid before an appeal court judge.
