Tortured domestic worker Erwiana says she forgives her employer

By Coconuts Hong Kong

Feb 11, 2015 | 3:40pm Hong Kong time

“As a human being, I can forgive Law Wan-tung and her family,” Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, told the SCMP in Indonesian.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, is a domestic worker who was tortured by Law, 44, her employer at the time.

Yesterday Law was found guilty of 18 out of 20 the charges laid on her, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages.

Erwiana said she had thought of escaping through the windows of her employer’s apartment.

“But I didn’t have the courage. It was on the 38th floor, I was afraid that I would fall down and die,” Erwiana said.

“I was locked up in the house. I couldn’t open the door. If I opened the door, the alarm would sound and the employer would hit me.”

Her memories of her abuse still haunt her.

“Sometimes when I recall the time I was hit and abused, I will cry. I can’t contain my tears.”

When she saw her former employer at the trial, it was the first time they had seen each other in over a year. She said she felt like she had been hit.

“I still hated her.”

Despite the cruelty she had to endure at her employer’s hands, and her initial apprehension towards the attention she was receiving, she is happy she was able to bring awareness to the issue of domestic worker abuse.

“I was glad that my case could reveal other cases that the government hadn’t paid attention to,” she said. “Justice must be upheld.”

Photo: AFP

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