Hong Kong (AFP) - An Indonesian woman who was beaten and burned by her former Hong Kong employers was awarded more than $110,000 in damages on Friday.
The abuse meted out to Kartika Puspitasari, 40, made headlines a decade ago and sparked calls for better protections for the army of women who come to the city to cook, clean and care for its children and elderly.
Her employers were convicted and jailed in 2013, with a court hearing that they burned her with an iron, beat her with a bike chain and assaulted her with a paper cutter, leaving her physically scarred and traumatised.
Initially unsure who to turn to, Puspitasari endured the abuse for two years, with her mistreatment only coming to light after she sought consular protection.
She returned to Indonesia in 2014 without having received any wages.
On Friday, a judge ruled that Puspitasari had been "treated inhumanely" and awarded her HK$868,607 ($110,650).
At the home she shares with her husband and three children in Padang city on Indonesia's Sumatra island, Puspitasari broke down in tears as she received the news by video call.
"I had been waiting for 10 years and finally, my prayer was granted," she said, thanking her lawyers and friends.
But Puspitasari, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), added that the money "is not comparable to the physical and mental wounds I am suffering from".
Eni Lestari, spokesperson for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body in Hong Kong, said the compensation was "the biggest amount so far" received by one of the city's domestic workers in an abuse case.
She called Puspitasari's treatment extreme, but "not isolated".
"We really ask the Hong Kong government to review their policies to make this kind of legal process faster, and to make sure the victim at the end of the day gets compensation as they deserve."
Calls for reform
By law, Hong Kong's estimated 340,000 migrant domestic workers, mainly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, are paid below the city's minimum wage and must live with their employers, which prevents some from fleeing hostile workplaces.
Rights groups have documented a litany of abuses against domestic workers in the financial hub, including human trafficking, overwork, sexual abuse and beatings.
While Puspitasari's compensation is rare, it is not without precedent.
In 2017, a Hong Kong court awarded $103,400 to Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, who was held captive, starved and beaten to the point that she lost control of her bodily functions.
But most victims cannot afford to seek redress in Hong Kong, especially after their visas expire at the end of their contracts, activists have said.
Despite the high-profile abuse cases, many women still join the city's ranks of domestic workers in hopes of escaping grinding poverty in their home countries.
Sringatin, chair of the Indonesian Migrant Workers' Union, urged the city to do more to support them.
"We hope the Hong Kong government can reform regulations to make sure that migrant workers can easily report when they become a victim of abuse, or make a regulation to make sure domestic workers can easily find a job without leaving Hong Kong," she said after the verdict on Friday.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department said it "attaches great importance to protecting the rights of (foreign domestic workers) in Hong Kong" and would extend visa assistance to those who have been abused or exploited.
'The trauma is too deep'
In court, Puspitasari testified that the abuse left her with dark, protruding scars on her back, abdomen and left arm.
Lawyers said the severity of the injuries limit her future employment options and that she was never able to afford the surgeries and necessary medical treatment.
The husband and wife who had employed her -- who completed sentences of three-and-a-half and five-and-a-half years respectively -- did not contest the civil suit.
Puspitasari said she felt her ex-employers had gotten off too easily.
"They should have been sentenced to a heavier punishment, like imprisonment of 20 years at the minimum, because they tortured and wanted to kill me," she said.
Puspitasari said she plans to use the money first to treat her scars, and then to open a small business selling things.
But she says she cannot forget what happened to her in Hong Kong.
"My mental wounds have not fully recovered because I still feel the fear."
