AFP/Hong Kong
Police at Hong Kong airport yesterday arrested a woman who allegedly tortured two Indonesian domestic helpers, a day after thousands staged a march to call for better migrant worker rights in the city.
The unnamed woman, a 44-year-old housewife alleged to have beaten domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih and another maid, was arrested at the city’s Chek Lap Kok airport as she attempted to board a flight to Thailand.
“At about 4 o’clock today, Hong Kong police arrested a housewife of age 44. She is believed to be (involved) in connection with Erwiana’s case and another abuse on an Indonesian domestic helper in Hong Kong,” police officer Chan Wai-man told reporters some five hours after police detained the woman.
“She was trying to leave Hong Kong for Thailand,” he added.
Sulistyaningsih, 22, was reportedly abused over a period of eight months while employed by the woman. Media reports said she was unable to walk due to her injuries when she flew home from the southern Chinese city this month.
Her ordeal sparked an outcry among domestic helpers and many locals, renewing concerns about the treatment of maids in the city.
The arrest came as police investigators yesterday travelled to Indonesia to interview the young maid.