Hong Kong must do more to protect domestic helpers

Every domestic helper who feels angst over their employment circumstances can take heart from the verdicts handed down to the woman who had for eight months abused and tormented Erwiana Sulistyaningsih. Law Wan-tung was found guilty on 18 of 20 counts involving the Indonesian woman and two other maids in a case that drew international attention to the plight of the more than 300,000 foreign workers who take care of families in our city. The vast majority have good employers, but there are those who are suffering, often in silence, for fear of losing their jobs. Yesterday's ruling gives assurance that legal protections are working while also serving as a deterrence.

Erwiana's ordeal was bound to put Hong Kong in the spotlight. She was left physically and emotionally scarred by the abuse meted out by Law. Punched in the face, forcibly stripped, locked in her employer's home, forced to work without days off, denied wages: these are the conditions of slavery, not employment in a sophisticated city. Sentencing on February 27 has to reflect the gravity of the crimes committed.

The case is sadly not an isolated one; there have been others in the past, one is before another court at present and there are bound to be more. Rules for employing domestic helpers, while aiming to offer protection to both sides, also leave room for abuse. A strict policy of forcing maids to live with their employers makes them prone to unnecessary stresses and tensions, overwork and sexual assault. Laws stipulating that they must find new employment and get a work visa within two weeks of the termination of a contract or leave Hong Kong pressures them to stay in unsatisfactory situations.

Domestic helpers in Hong Kong are better paid and protected than elsewhere in the region. There is room for improvement, though, and authorities have to strive to make working conditions comparable to those of other developed societies. The tenacity of those who brought Erwiana's case to court and her bravery in returning for the trial have done much for the cause of maids. That work has to continue apace.