Doctors have removed 13 nails and five needles (nåle) from a Sri Lankan housemaid who said her employer in Saudi Arabia hammered them into her body, BBC online reports Friday.
LP Ariyawathie, 49, told staff at Kamburupitiya Hospital her employer inflicted the injuries as a punishment. X-rays showed that there were 24 nails and needles in her body. Doctors said those remaining inside her body posed no immediate threat to her life.
The nails were up to 5 cm long. Doctors said they would carry out further surgery later to remove the remaining nails from the mother of three.
Ms Ariyawathie travelled to Saudi Arabia in March to become a housemaid. She was deeply traumatised and unable to give full details of her experience. She could not sit down or walk properly, doctors said.
Around 1,8 million Sri Lankans are employed abroad, 70 per cent of whom are women.
