Hong Kong - An Indonesian maid who gave her employer a cup
of water containing urine to drink after receiving a warning letter
has been jailed, a news report said Wednesday.
The female employer of the 29-year-old maid, called Manik, became
suspicious of the smell when she was asked for a glass of water from
her on May 4, the South China Morning Post reported.
She refused to drink it, insisting instead that her maid taste it
in front of her. She then kept a sample which she sent to have tested
in a laboratory, the newspaper said.
At a court hearing Tuesday, Manik admitted a charge of
administering a poison or noxious substance with intent to injure
her Chinese employer and was jailed for six days.
Manik told the court through her lawyer that she used the urine to
treat a skin condition and had accidentally splashed some into the
cup she was using to give her employer some drinking water.
According to the newspaper, her lawyer Michael Vidler told the
court: 'It is a traditional remedy (for skin ailments) in her home
country.'
Manik was hired by her employer in February and had previously
been issued with a warning letter, the court hearing was told.
Hong Kong is home to more than 200,000 live-in domestic helpers
from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand who do household and
child care duties for a government-set minimum wage of around 420 US
dollars a week.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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