A teenage maid in Banteay Meanchey province, whose landlady allegedly whipped her with electric wire and forced her to drink water from the toilet, was released from hospital yesterday morning after about a week spent recovering from her injuries.

Landlady Lor Srey, 32, was arrested and charged with torture earlier this month after a 16-year-old filed a complaint alleging that she had been tortured while living and working as a maid for Lor Srey

over a three-year period in the province’s Serei Sophorn town. According to Article 210 of the criminal code, a person found guilty of torture can face seven to 15 years in prison.

Chhem Mala, director of the provincial centre for the Cambodia Women’s Crisis Centre, said yesterday that CWCC staff had now brought the maid back from the hospital to stay in the centre. “She left the hospital this morning,” she said. She added that Lor Srey’s relatives had asked the teen to drop the complaint, but she had refused. Workers from rights group Adhoc claimed last week that she was found with 14 wounds on her head and injuries all over her body. They also alleged that Lor Srey had beaten the maid daily using electric wire and brooms, and forced her to eat soup off the floor and drink water from the toilet.

Provincial court judge Theam Chanpiseth said last week that Lor Srey was being detained pending a three to six-month investigation by police and court officials into the case.