KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian woman was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years' jail for inflicting horrific wounds on her Indonesian maid, scalding her with hot water and pressing an iron on her back and breasts.

Sessions Court Judge Akhear Tahir found former flight attendant Yim Pek Ha guilty of three counts of abusing her maid Nirmala Bonat, with each charge carrying a penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

"I sentence you to 18 years for the first charge, 18 years for the second charge and 18 years for the third charge. Consecutively, it will be 54 years. Looking at the nature of the case, it may be too harsh.

"As such I am directing the three jail terms to run concurrently," he told a packed court room.

Yim, a 40-year-old mother of four young children who had denied the charges, earlier burst into tears when the guilty verdict was handed down in the case which has shocked Malaysians.

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

The judge rejected the defence argument that Bonat was mentally disturbed and that the injuries were self-inflicted, saying that the wounds were in places that were difficult to reach.

"From the statements from the accused, there was underlying anger even after three years. So it is not surprising that she caused the injuries. She admitted that she slapped the victim," he said.

"Nirmala Bonat has been consistent in her statements that her lady boss injured her, from the time she was found by a security guard," he said.

"My finding of fact is that the injuries were not self-inflicted."

The sentence was handed down after the defence submitted mitigation arguments in an attempt to lessen the penalty.

Bonat's case made headlines in Malaysia, with photographs of the severe injuries inflicted by her Malaysian boss splashed on the front pages of newspapers when she was discovered 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.

Bonat returned to her home in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province early this year and was not present in court.

A string of worker abuse cases in Malaysia have strained relations with Indonesia. 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.


- AFP/so