Keep appealing and you could be in jail longer, Hong Kong judge tells Erwiana’s convicted ex-boss
Court cites need to protect ‘vulnerable domestic helpers’ in rejecting bid by former employer of abused Indonesian national
An appeals court judge has warned that an abusive employer jailed for assaulting Indonesian former domestic worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih could face even longer time in jail if the former boss continued to pursue her appeal.
In a 46-page ruling handed down on Friday, Mr Justice Michael Lunn, the court’s vice-president, said he found none of the grounds of appeal against conviction to be reasonably arguable.
He added it was not reasonably arguable that the lower court handling the case had taken into account Law’s uncharged acts in determining her sentence.
Clearly, a deterrent sentence is required
Echoing a ruling in a separate case, Lunn said the court needed to “protect the interests of vulnerable domestic helpers and to articulate society’s abhorrence of such [violent] conduct”.
“Clearly, a deterrent sentence is required,” he said.
While Law had the right to ask again for permission to appeal, such an attempt might mean she risked serving even more time behind bars, the judge noted.
“I warned her that if she did so and the Court of Appeal determined that she did so without justification, it has power to make a direction for ‘loss of time’,” he said, referring to a possibility that some or all of the time Law served in custody before a fresh hearing might not count towards her final sentence.
During the trial, the District Court heard shocking details of how Erwiana was punched by Law so hard that her teeth were fractured. Law also twisted a metal tube from a vacuum cleaner in Erwiana’s mouth, causing cuts to her lips.
