For Hong Kong's domestic workers in trouble, there are few places to turn to.

(From Agence France Presse)

When the traffic lights turned green, she did not look back. She just took off and kept running, leaving the employer who had held her a virtual prisoner for over a year, standing at the side of the road.

Five months later, the 26-year-old maid is still waiting for a year's unpaid wages, but stands little chance of receiving all the back-pay she is owed, let alone getting compensated for her year-long ordeal.

"Some days I went without food or water and I felt too tired to work but my employer would just say 'faster'," said the young woman, who asked to remain anonymous while her case is handled by the Hong Kong Labour …