Kuwaiti doctor jailed for blinding African house helper

A Kuwaiti physician has been sentenced to four years in prison for torturing her African domestic worker leading her to lose the sight of her left eye.

The doctor - who wasn't named - mercilessly beat her Madagascan house helper on an almost daily basis, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Watan reported on Thursday.

Kuwait's lower court had previously acquitted the 55-year-old but an appeals court sentenced her to prison on Wednesday.

The court also fined the doctor $2,500 and ordered her to pay temporary damages of $16,500 to the worker.

According to al-Watan, the doctor's niece helped the worker by taking her to a police station where she filed a complaint.

The verdict is not final as it must be reviewed by the supreme court.

In June, Kuwait's parliament passed the first legislation in the oil-rich Gulf state to regulate the status of thousands of domestic helpers.

About 600,000 people, mostly from Asia, work as domestic workers in Kuwait.

The tiny nation has around 1.3 million Kuwaitis in addition to 2.9 million foreigners.

Kuwait and other Gulf countries, where at least 2.4 million domestic helpers work, have repeatedly come under strong criticism by international rights groups for alleged abuse of foreign workers.