A female caregiver from Indonesia has been rescued after allegedly being held captive by her employer, the New Taipei City Department of Labor Affairs said on Saturday.
The woman had allegedly been barred from leaving the residence of her employer in Banciao District (板橋) for several months, the department said.
The employer, surnamed Lin (林), allegedly slapped her, only gave her leftovers to eat and cut her pay for a few months, saying her performance failed to live up to expectations, the department said.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Government
The woman, who was hired to look after a sick, elderly member of the family, was rescued on Jan. 11 when an inspector from the department visited after she had called the department about her situation, it said.
Prior to the rescue, inspectors had attempted to visit her several times, but Lin had used excuses to keep the inspectors out, it said.
During the most recent visit, the woman rushed to answer the door, showing the inspector bloodstained toilet paper and a diary in which she had kept a record of her treatment, the department said.
The inspector attempted to take her from the house to go to a shelter, but was stopped by Lin for about two hours until the police intervened, the department said.
Lin told the department that the inspector lacked good manners while on duty and accused them of entering the residence without permission, it said.
The department has only 41 inspectors to oversee nearly 100,000 migrant workers, creating tremendous pressure and a heavy workload, it said.
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