Cambodian maids tell of abuse by their employers

The government says it condemns abuse of maid but has not done anything o review the laws to protect them, say human rights activists .

KUALA LUMPUR: Hok Pov had never been beaten and never known hunger until she came to work in Malaysia in April.

In the six weeks that she worked as a maid for a Malaysian family, she says she lost 10 kilograms while toiling 20 hours a day with little to eat. Often she was slapped and punched by her employer, she says.

“I was so hungry that I even ate chicken bones,” a sobbing Hok Pov, 31, said at the office of Malaysian rights’ group Tenaganita that rescued her in June with the help of police.

Joint call for freeze on Cambodian maids

Tenaganita and Cambodian opposition MP have linked arms to stop the rising abuse of Cambodian domestic workers in Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: Tenaganita and Cambodian opposition MP, Mu Sochua, today issued a joint call for a freeze on the recruitment of Cambodian domestic workers to Malaysia.

The call comes amidst the alarming rise in abuse and exploitation of Cambodian domestic workers in the country.

Last month an underage Cambodian domestic worker was found dead outside her employer’s house in Penang while another was recently rescued from her abusive employer in Segambut.

Mu Sochua, a well-known figure in the Sam Rainsy Party and a former Women’s Affairs Minister, arrived in Malaysia yesterday after numerous attempts to engage the Malaysian government failed.