Kuwait female doctor jailed for torturing African worker

AFP/ Kuwait City

Kuwait's appeals court has sentenced a female physician to four years in jail for torturing her African household worker who became partially blind as a result, local media reported Thursday.

Al-Watan newspaper reported on its website that the Kuwaiti doctor tortured the Madagascan domestic worker almost daily, systematically beating her until she lost vision in her left eye.

A lower court had acquitted the 55-year-old but the appeals court on Wednesday sentenced her to jail.

The court also fined the doctor $2,500 (2,300 euros) and ordered her to pay temporary damages of $16,500 to the worker.

The paper said that the doctor's niece helped the worker by taking her to a police station where she filed a complaint.

The verdict is not final as it must be reviewed by the supreme court.

Kuwait's parliament in June passed the first legislation in the oil-rich Gulf state to regulate the status of thousands of mainly Asian domestic helpers.

About 600,000 people, mostly from Asia, work for households in Kuwait.

The nation has a native population of 1.3 million in addition to 2.9 million foreigners.