Siti Hajar's Employer Denies Torture Charges

Malaysian Hau Yuan Tyng denied Thursday accusations that she had tortured her Indonesian maid Siti Hajar at her apartment in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, Antara state news agency reported Thursday.

Prosecutor Lee King Fatt told a Malaysian court Hua or Michelle had tormented Siti three times in February and June and was facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.

Michelle's lawyer Manoharan asked Judge SK Komanthy to release his client from detention put her under city arrest.

“My client is cooperative and has two kids, one of them is physically handicapped, and need attention from their mother,” Manoharan said.

Judge Komanthy said Michelle would have to pay RM 15,000 (US$ 4,200) in bail, hand over her passport and report to the nearby police office each month for her release from prison.

Siti, who hails from Garut in West Java, was hired by Michelle in 2006 but had not received her salaries for the last 34 months.Michelle also stands trial on charges of violating immigration law for illegally employing Siti and did not extend her work permit.