A single mother was handed an increased sentence of 11 years by the High Court here today on three counts of abusing her maid.

Hau Yuan Tyng, 45, was sentenced to eight years jail by the Sessions Court on Nov 12 last year after she found guilty of causing grievous hurt to Siti Hajar Sadli, 35.

A former employment agency operational manager, Hau was in tears over the extended jail sentence.

Judge Ghazali Cha, who turned down Hau's appeal, said the Sessions Court judge did not erred when passing the sentence and Hau had failed to raise reasonable doubts in her appeal.  

"Although I sympathise with the appellant as a single mother, who has a disabled child, and had to work to support her children, she showed no remorse for what she had done to the victim.

"Nothing in the appeal records showed that the appellant had apologised to the victim to show her repentance. Maid abuse are no longer exceptional cases.

"Maids should not be used as slaves. They have feelings and needed to be protected, moreover it involves relations between the two neighbouring countries," he said.

Grievous hurt using hot water, hammer

siti hajar indonesian tortured abused maid 190609 On Nov 12 last year, Sessions Court judge SM Komathy Suppiah sentenced Hau to four years’ jail on each of two charges of causing grievous hurt to Siti Hajar Sadli ( right ), 34, and ordered a six-month jail term imposed on the third charge of causing hurt to run concurrently.

Komathy also ordered Hau to pay RM5,000 in compensation to Siti Hajar.

Hau had, on June 18, claimed trial to two counts of causing grievous hurt to Siti Hajar using hot water and a hammer at Lanai Kiara Condominium in Mont Kiara here between February and June last year.

She was also charged with causing hurt to Siti Hajar with a pair of scissors.

Earlier, Ghazali said there was no possibility that the injuries sustained by the victim were self-inflicted to put Hau into trouble as she wanted to go back to Indonesia.

On Hau's claim that Siti Hajar had sexually abused one of her children, Ghazali said it was a concocted story.

- Bernama