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Jasmine Siu

A Hong Kong employer who made global headlines when put on trial for torturing Indonesian domestic worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih has been declared bankrupt.
Master Reuden Lai Tat-cheung of the High Court on Monday issued the bankruptcy order against Law Wan-tung.
Court records showed the beautician had petitioned for her own bankruptcy in May, without revealing the extent of her debts.
In February 2015, Law was jailed for six years and fined HK$15,000 after being found guilty of assaulting Erwiana and another Indonesian helper, Tutik Lestari Ningsih, while they were in her employ.
Beaten helper Erwiana demands to know why abuser left jail early
The abuse that took place from 2013 to 2014 made world news, and pictures of a bedridden Erwiana, her face swollen, put the working conditions of foreign helpers in Hong Kong under the spotlight.
During the trial, the District Court heard Law had punched Erwiana so hard her incisor teeth were fractured. Law also stripped her in the bathroom of her Tseung Kwan O flat and splashed her with cold water while pointing a fan at her.
On another occasion, Law twisted a metal tube from a vacuum cleaner inside her mouth, causing cuts to her lips.
For the injuries, Erwiana was awarded HK$809,430 (US$104,000) in damages in 2017, while Tutik won HK$170,000 the following year.


Law applied for a judicial review against the Legal Aid Department soon after she was jailed in 2015 after it refused to grant her financial aid to appeal against her convictions.
When the judicial review failed, Law was ordered by the High Court to pay the Department of Justice’s HK$200,000 in legal costs, with a further order that she use her property and other assets to do so after she claimed her bank balances were in the red.
Law lost her appeal against her conviction and sentence in 2016, with the Court of Appeal’s Mr Justice Michael Lunn warning that further attempts to clear her name could result in more jail time.
She was eventually given early release in 2018, after less than four years behind bars.


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Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong employer jailed in 2015 for torturing Indonesian domestic worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih declared bankrupt

Law Wan-tung, convicted in 2015 of torturing her Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, has been declared bankrupt. Photo: Sam Tsang

Woman who tortured Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih released from prison despite serving less than two-thirds of her sentence

Law Wan-tung has been released from Lo Wu Correctional Institution. Photo: Sam Tsang

Interior of Lo Wu Correctional Institution, pictured during a media tour arranged by Correctional Services Department (CSD) to introduce the facilities at the institution. 23AUG10. SCMp/ K. Y. Cheng

Indonesian domestic worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih (Right) with supporters outside Wan Chai District Court following the sentencing of her former employer Law Wan-tung. 27FEB15

Starved, beaten with hammer, forced to sleep with dog: worst domestic worker abuse cases of Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia

Suyanti Sutrinso. Photo: The Straits Times

Candle light vigil for Adelina and all the victims of human trafficking at Patterson Street in Causeway Bay. Late Adelina Lisao, a domestic worker in Malaysia, was reportedly tortured by her employer. 25FEB18 SCMP / Dickson Lee

ALTERNATE CROP OF XKL801 - In this Feb. 10, 2018 photo, Indonesian house maid Adelina Lisao sits on the porch in Bukit Mertajam, near Penang, Malaysia. The Indonesian maid who allegedly suffered injuries on her body and was forced to sleep outside on a porch with a family's dog has died in Malaysia, prompting calls by activists and lawmakers for better laws to safeguard migrant workers. (AP Photo/Por Cheng Han)

Law Wan-tung, former employer of Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, is escorted by a staff member from Hong Kong Correctional Services inside a van outside the District Court in Wan Chai. Law Wan-tung, 44, was found guilty of 18 of 20 charges of assault, including two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Erwiana Sulistyaningsih. 10FEB15

Former domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih meets the media at Kowloon Union Church. Erwiana's former employer (who was jailed for causing Erwiana's injuries) was ordered by the District Court to pay her more than HK$8000,000. 22DEC17 SCMP / Nora Tam

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime


Court records show the beautician, ordered to pay HK$809,430 to her victim and later HK$200,000 in legal costs to the Department of Justice, filed for bankruptcy in May
Her abuse case drew worldwide attention to the plight of Hong Kong helpers working in dire conditions



Court records show the beautician, who was ordered to pay HK$809,430 to her victim and later HK$200,000 in legal costs to the Department of Justice, filed for bankruptcy in May.


Erwiana Sulistyaningsih

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Hong Kong employer jailed in 2015 for torturing Indonesian domestic worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih declared bankrupt

Court records show the beautician, ordered to pay HK$809,430 to her victim and later HK$200,000 in legal costs to the Department of Justice, filed for bankruptcy in May Her abuse case drew worldwide attention to the plight of Hong Kong helpers working in dire conditions

Court records show the beautician, ordered to pay HK$809,430 to her victim and later HK$200,000 in legal costs to the Department of Justice, filed for bankruptcy in May

Her abuse case drew worldwide attention to the plight of Hong Kong helpers working in dire conditions