Former flight attendant Yim Pek Ha's 18-year jail term for inflicting horrific wounds on her Indonesian maid, including burning her breasts and back with an iron, was cut by six years today.

Yim, a 40-year-old mother of four young children, was convicted of abusing Nirmala Bonat in November 2008 in a case that shocked Malaysians.

The High Court acquitted Yim of pouring scalding water on Bonat's leg and reduced sentences for two charges: burning the maid with an iron and beating her with a mug.

The court however allowed an appeal by the prosecution on a fourth charge on which Yim had earlier been acquitted, of breaking the maid's nose, and sentenced her to two years in jail on that count.

"I have a duty to reflect on the severity of the offences committed. The sentence has to deter others from committing such offences, especially against the weak and even against animals," said Judge Azman Abdullah.

But in handing down the reduced sentences to Yim, who sobbed in the dock, he said: "The accused has children and she is a first-time offender."

The judge ordered that the jail terms should run consecutively, but granted Yim bail of RM200,000 pending an appeal she plans to launch in a higher court.

Burnt with hot iron

Bonat's case made headlines in Malaysia, with photographs of her severe injuries splashed on newspaper front pages in 2004.

After accidentally breaking a mug, Bonat said she was abused every day until her breasts and back were covered with burns from a hot iron, and her face was swollen by regular beatings.

She returned to her home in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province early last year.

A string of worker abuse cases in Malaysia have strained relations with Indonesia and prompted Jakarta to temporarily ban sending domestic workers to the neighbouring nation since June.

Malaysia said this week it would set up a task force with Indonesia to look into the grievances of Indonesian maids, but expressed confidence the ban would be lifted in the next few months.

One of Asia's largest importers of labour, Malaysia depends heavily on domestic workers, with about 230,000 from Indonesia. But it has been criticised for not introducing legislation to enshrine their rights and conditions.

- AFP