Ex actress convicted of maid abuse

Ex actress convicted of maid abuse

SINGAPORE: A former Singapore television actress has been convicted of physically abusing her Indonesian maid with needles and a high-heeled shoe, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.

Gao Man Hua, 42, who will be sentenced in January, admitted in court on Wednesday that she poked Yahya Herin Kartikawati, 19, with needles and hit her with a high-heeled shoe last year, the paper reported.

In one incident, Gao struck the maid's head with the shoe, leaving a small cut on her scalp, the report said.

The Straits Times said Gao appeared in a program called Star Search 14 years ago. Court officials could not immediately confirm Gao's conviction.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report released earlier this month that maids in Singapore suffered serious abuses including sexual violence, home lock-ups, and food deprivation. The government dismissed the report as an exaggeration.

About 150,000 women work as maids in Singapore, most of them from impoverished villages in the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. -- AFP