'Inhuman' torture of helper beaten with bicycle chain slammed by Hong Kong judge

Hong Kong will not tolerate the type of "inhuman" torture an Indonesian domestic helper suffered at the hands of her employers, who beat her with bicycle chains and hot irons, a judge said yesterday.

Explaining the reasons for denying the couple's appeal against their convictions and sentencing on August 27, the Court of Appeal's vice-president, Mr Justice Wally Yeung Chun-kuen, said the court had a duty to protect the rights of foreign workers and to reflect abhorrence at the couple's cruel acts.

Tai Chi-wai and Catherine Au Yuk-shan, both in their early 40s, were convicted of eight counts of assaulting their helper, Kartika Puspitasari, for over two years. They were jailed for three years and three months, and five years and six months, respectively, in the District Court last year.

Yeung said: "[The couple] on one hand claimed they loved their [three] children, but on the other hand they used severe ways to torture another parents' daughter [the victim]. It made the case look more unjustified.

"Hong Kong is a modern, civilised city and is serious about human rights. We will not tolerate these inhuman acts as the couple did to the victim."

The court previously found Tai guilty of two counts of wounding, including one for beating Kartika with a bicycle chain causing part of her front tooth to fall out and assaulting her with his fists.

His wife Au - who tortured the helper with irons, bicycle chains, a paper cutter, a hanger and a shoe - was found guilty of six charges of wounding and assault causing actual bodily harm.