The wheels of justice are moving slowly for Indonesian domestic helper Kriswandar. She has been stuck in the city for 25 months now, as she waits for her assault case against her employer to go through the courts.
Kriswandar went to the police in July 2006 to report that her male boss had hit her on the head with a mobile phone. The employer was convicted and fined HK$5,000 earlier this year. However, he has appealed against his conviction. And so Kriswandar has to stay a bit longer.
As she waits for the appeal process to run its course, she cannot work, relying on charity from friends to get by. Kriswandar, who has not seen her children for five years, said she spent her time at a shelter talking to helpers who had lost their jobs.
Kriswandar's situation is far from unique. At a press briefing last week called by Caritas, four Indonesians and a Filipino helper voiced their anguish over their predicaments. They are staying here, jobless, while holding visitor's permits because they want justice for themselves.
And there are others who have been quietly waiting at several shelters for helpers whose contracts have been terminated. At one, 43 Indonesian and Filipino helpers are living in cramped conditions waiting for their complaints to go through the courts.
Concern groups say that the two-week rule - the period in which they must find a new job after their contract is up, or leave Hong Kong - has made the positions of helpers untenable. The government has insisted that the 21-year-old policy works in preventing helpers from job-hopping and that it will not be rescinded.
The two-week rule has been back in the spotlight since the suspension of the HK$9,600 levy paid for each two-year contract. And, once again, there is little public support for the helpers' position.