Thousands of Indonesian maids in Malaysia are victims of physical and mental abuse and are denied basic rights, with scant legal protection, a human rights group said on Wednesday. The US-based Human Rights Watch said many maids were raped or assaulted, worked up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week and denied even their meagre pay of less than $0.25 an hour.

Nisha Varia, researcher in the group?s women?s rights division, urged Indonesian and Malaysian governments to alter their labour laws to protect home workers.

?We?re especially concerned about Malaysia because of the systemic problems. For example, the exclusion of domestic workers from any type of legal protection is of great concern,? she told a news conference. Labour-starved Malaysia employs about 240,000 maids, more than 90 percent from neighbouring Indonesia, Human Rights Watch said. Others come from the Philippines, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

A recent abuse scandal trained the spotlight on the plight of Indonesian maids after newspapers carried pictures of a bruised and burnt teenager allegedly branded with a hot iron and scalding water by her Malaysian employer.