Housewife jailed over 'torture' appeals

A housewife jailed for seven months after she was found to have subjected her maid to an 'extreme form of torture' involving rusty tacks and a broomstick launched a bid to clear her name yesterday.

Sek Siu-fun, 40, had been convicted by Western Court magistrate Symon Wong Yu-wing on two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Anafer Galanza Grospe, 24.

But counsel for Sek, Christopher Grounds, told Mr Justice Michael McMahon in the Court of First Instance yesterday the magistrate had erred in assessing the evidence.

The magistrate had heard that on February 9, 2001, at Sek's Stanley flat, the employer kicked Ms Grospe's leg after complaining that she was working too slowly. She had then pricked the maid's head, ears, arm and back with rusty thumb tacks.

Two days after the incident, Sek beat the maid up to 10 times with a metal broomstick, the court heard.

Sek denied both counts. But Mr Wong found Sek had put Ms Grospe through an extreme form of torture. 'In my view, your conduct amounts to an attempt to wind the clock back to a time when slavery was still common,' he said.