A Malaysian woman was today charged with causing grievous bodily harm to her Indonesian maid and could face a 20-year jail term if found guilty, her lawyer said.

Hau Yuan Tyung, a 43-year-old mother of two, faced three charges of injuring her maid Siti Hajar, lawyer M Manoharan said.

"My client pleaded not guilty. The court has granted her bail," he told AFP.

Manoharan said the judge would decide the trial date on July 22, adding that his client could face a maximum 20-year jail term if found guilty.

Hajar, a 33-year-old maid from West Java, was badly scarred after allegedly being repeatedly tortured by her employer for three years.

During that period, she alleged, she was frequently beaten with a cane or doused with boiling water.

Hajar came to work in Malaysia in July 2006 after her divorce.

Mistreatment of migrant workers

A string of shocking revelations about mistreatment of migrant workers has strained relations between Malaysia and Indonesia.

A Malaysian former flight attendant was last November sentenced to 18 years in jail for using an iron and scalding water to inflict horrific wounds on her Indonesian maid.

Malaysia has no laws governing working conditions for domestic workers.

Last month, the government said it was coming out with new laws to protect domestic workers from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor working conditions.

Malaysia is home to some 1.2 million documented Indonesian workers, as well as an illegal workforce estimated to take the figure up to two million.

The United States has yesterday put Malaysia back on the blacklist of countries trafficking in people after removing the country from the list last year.

Among the reasons stated included the poor treatment of foreign domestic helpers.