Second help testifies against Indian 145;slave146; couple

Enung spoke through an Indonesian-English interpreter at the end of daylong testimony in the trial of Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to a 12-count federal indictment including charges of conspiracy and involuntary servitude. They are accused of bringing the women to the United States to work as housekeepers but enslaving them instead in their Long Island mansion, sending 100 a month home to their families but subjecting them to repeated psychological and physical abuse.

Earlier in the trial, the other servant, Samirah, testified she was forced to walk around naked and eat her own vomit for minor transgressions such as failing to seek permission from Varsha Sabhnani before beginning a cleaning chore. Both former housekeepers testified that the woman they referred to as The Mrs. required them to ask permission before doing any work.

Enung also testified that, like Samirah, she was forced to eat leftovers out of the family trash bins because they were given little more than slices of bread and small cups of rice to eat while being forced to work 18 or more hours a day.

Defense attorneys contend the housekeepers practiced witchcraft and may have abused themselves as part of an Indonesian self-mutilation ritual 8212; an assertion Samirah denied.

Enung was brought to tears after testifying that Samirah had repeatedly been forced to eat dozens of chili peppers against her will and had been given the option of drinking a household cleaner instead.

If convicted, the Sabhnanis, who have four children, could face 40 years in prison.