'Tortured' Indonesia maid's employer guilty: Hong Kong judge

A Hong Kong woman was found guilty Tuesday (Feb 10) of severely abusing her Indonesian maid, in a case that dominated headlines and sparked international outrage.

"You are remanded in custody," Judge Amanda Woodcock told Law Wan-tung, after announcing to a packed courthouse that the 44-year-old had been found guilty of 18 of the 20 charges laid against her, including grievous bodily harm and criminal intimidation.

"I am sure she was telling the truth," Woodcock said, referring to Law's former employee, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, who told the court she had been "tortured" by Law.

A jubilant Sulistyaningsih, clad in a black t-shirt with her face emblazoned on it and the word "justice", told AFP after the verdict was read out that she was "very happy", and hugged nearby activists.

Law, meanwhile, lowered her head but appeared to be calm.

The charges against her included grievous bodily harm with intent, assault, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages. The only two counts she was not found guilty of were related to her treatment of another domestic worker.

The case sparked protests by migrant workers in the financial hub, and has shone a spotlight on the plight of migrant domestic helpers in Asia and the Middle East after reports of torture and even killings.