The Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur has welcomed the tough sentence meted out by the court against a woman who was found guilty of abusing one of its nationals.

abused indonesian maid nirmala bonat 210504 Former flight attendant Yim Pek Ha was today found guilty of three counts of abusing her maid Nirmala Bonat, who was discovered with severe injuries by a security guard at their upmarket condo in 2004.

She was sentenced to 18 years in jail for using an iron and scalding water to inflict horrific wounds on Bonat, in a case that shocked the country.

The embassy's Third Secretary (Information, Social and Cultural Affairs) Shanti Utami Retnaningsih said her government welcomes and respects the court's decision.

"I think the punishment had to be severe to deter people especially employers from hurting maids," she said.

Shanti said the embassy had recorded 17 cases of abuse by employers over the last three years, with the majority being domestic helpers.

“These cases have already been taken to court, but the (most prominent case) is, of course, Nirmala," she said.

The embassy will relay the decision to Nirmala who resides in Tua Kapas, Nusa Tenggara.

Malaysia is home to some 1.2 million documented Indonesian workers, as well as an illegal workforce estimated to take the figure up to two million.

Yim to serve sentence immediately

A string of shocking revelations about mistreatment of migrant workers has strained relations between the two neighbours.

It sparked protests in front of the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta.

Yim was convicted of pressing a hot iron on Bonat's back and breasts, and pouring hot water on her legs as punishment for not doing the chores properly. She was cleared of a fourth charge of breaking the maid's nose.

Akhtar ordered Yim to begin serving her sentence immediately.

The Bonat case made headlines in Malaysia, with photographs of her severe injuries splashed on the front pages of newspapers when she was discovered in 2004. At that time she was just 19 years old.

Bonat said that Yim abused her every day of the five months she spent in the family's home, until her breasts and back were covered with burns, and her face was swollen by regular beatings.

She returned to her home in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province early this year and was not present for the verdict.

- AFP