HK officials sign deal with banks for $10k payout to PRs

By The SUN

HK finance officials with bank representatives after the signing

The Hong Kong government today (Jun 3) signed service agreements with representatives of 21 banks to facilitate the release of the $10k relief aid to permanent residents under the Cash Payout Scheme.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said at the signing ceremony that the agreement will make it possible for eligible people to register and receive the payout quickly, conveniently and safely.

He said the preparation for the payout, meant to relieve financial pressure on residents because of the pandemic, is nearing completion. The registration is expected to start by the end of this month, with payment to be made in July.

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Under the agreement, the banks will provide the electronic registration platform. All eligible people may register with their bank’s website or internet banking service, and the money will be paid into their sole-name account.

Alternatively, they may also fill in a registration form and submit it to their bank.

All Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 and above, are eligible for the cash assistance.

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A separate relief measure is being considered for other residents who have been in Hong Kong for less than seven years, which is the required period before anyone could qualify for permanent residency.

Signing on behalf of the government was Charlix Wong, director of accounting services.

Aside from Chan, the other officials who witnessed the signing were Christopher Hui, secretary for financial services and the treasury and Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

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Representatives from the 21 following banks each signed the agreement:

1. Bank of China (Hong Kong)
2. Bank of Communications (Hong Kong)
3. Bank of East Asia
4. China CITIC Bank International
5. China Construction Bank (Asia)
6. Chiyu Banking Corporation
7. Chong Hing Bank
8. Citibank (Hong Kong)
9. CMB Wing Lung Bank
10. Dah Sing Bank
11. DBS Bank (Hong Kong)
12. Fubon Bank
13. Hang Seng Bank
14. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
15. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia)
16. Nanyang Commercial Bank
17. OCBC Wing Hang Bank
18. Public Bank (Hong Kong)
19. Shanghai Commercial Bank
20. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)
21. ZA Bank

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Up to 15k OFWs stranded in PH start trickling into HK

By Daisy CL Mandap

Most HK-bound OFWs are unable to fly out because there are still no domestic flights in the Philippines

Filipino domestic workers have started arriving in Hong Kong in trickles after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration started processing contracts and overseas employment certificates (OECs) again.

According to Alfredo Palmiery, president of the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters in the Philippines (Sharp), POEA started accepting 10 contracts per agency per day since May 18.

He said his own agency, Concorde International, has managed to release 39 OECs for Hong Kong-bound workers, and four have already been deployed.

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Palmiery's Hong Kong counterpart, Fair Employment Agency, is one of the biggest players in the recruitment industry in the city.

But these are just a tiny fraction of the number of Hong Kong–bound domestic workers who have been stranded in the Philippines because of travel restrictions in both territories starting in February.

Palmiery said, “In my estimate, about 15,000 (workers) are in the pipeline – 5,000 agency hires and 10,000 balik-manggagawa (returning FDWs).”

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The number includes those already contracted by employers but are still waiting for visa approvals in Hong Kong, he added.

His estimate could be a bit on the high side, however, as Hong Kong Immigration figures show a drop of only about 7,000 in the Filipino domestic workers population between February and May this year.

Even adding the progressive increase in their numbers year-on-year during normal times, the number could be closer to 10,000 – which, however, is still considerable.

Palmiery (in black jacket) estimates 15,000 OFWs bound for HK are stranded in the Philippines

Palmiery said many more are still waiting for the chance to depart for Hong Kong.

“Others are just renewing their expired medicals (clearances). Some could not depart because there are no available flights or transportation from the provinces,” he said.

The latter could be the bigger reason for the failure of most Hong Kong – bound OFWs to take up, or resume their jobs.

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Much of the Philippines, in particular, Metro Manila, where the only operational international airport is located, has been under strict lockdown for the past 11 weeks.

Starting Jun 1, the metropolis been put under a more relaxed community quarantine, but domestic flights are still not being allowed, reportedly because of resistance from local government units, which fear the spread of the coronavirus.

Another big stumbling block is the mandatory 14-day quarantine imposed on those arriving in Hong Kong from overseas.

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According to some Hong Kong employment agencies, many employers are hesitant to take newly arrived domestic workers into their homes, even if they tested negative on arrival at the airport.

If they choose to put them in hotel or a quarantine facility, employers could face considerable cost as Hong Kong labor laws require them to pay for the worker’s accommodation and food.

But even if employers are desperate enough to agree to the added costs, many agencies say there are still only a few OFWs  able to fly into Hong Kong from Manila.

One reason is the apparent inability of the POEA to return to full operations despite Metro Manila’s move to the less restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ).

In an advisory dated Jun 1, POEA said that despite the relaxation of distancing rules, its offices in Metro Manila will continue to work at reduced capacity “until such time that the 50% manpower complement required under GCQ set-up is achieved.

This is despite an announcement from the Department of Labor and Employment that it was stepping up its Balik Abroad program for stranded OFWs, along with its Hatid OFW program for those who were on their way back home after losing their jobs abroad.

In line with the Dole move, the Labor Attache in Hong Kong, Melchor Dizon, announced on May 26 that his office would start processing all work contracts again, including those for terminated OFWs whose visas have been extended by Immigration.

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Five Pinoys, 8 others fined for illegal gambling

By Vir B. Lumicao

This fish-hitting game is popular among illegal gamblers in HK (The New Paper photo)

Five Filipinos were among 13 people fined in Eastern Court today, Jun 2, after pleading guilty in two separate cases of illegal gambling in the same place in April and May.

The Filipinos who pleaded guilty in the first case were former bartender Ray Onate Jr., 31; asylum seeker Jennifer Baguio, 44; housewife Carolina Fung, 48; and unemployed resident Liza Lancian, 43.

Their co-defendants who also pleaded guilty were local residents Chow Kai-ming, 38; Cheung Chun-yuen, 34; Liu Yan-sau, 58, and Thai male boxing coaches Amnat Bhupasiri, 23, and Nantawut Teeravit, 36.

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Indian female Sarosh Qazi, 33, pleaded guilty to “managing a gambling establishment” in both cases, but Magistrate Stephanie Chui set aside her plea in the second case and ordered a trial after she disagreed with the facts.

The prosecution charged that at 7:05 am on Apr 2, special duty squad officers from the Wanchai District Police Station mounted an anti-gambling operation at a residential flat on 1/F, 47 Sharp St. East, Causeway Bay.

The officers saw the 10 defendants inside. Investigation revealed that Sarosh kept the gambling den while the nine others were gamblers.

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Police seized two fish-hitting machines, one bird-hitting machine, two slot machines, 10 chairs, and playing cards. Sarosh and the 9 players were arrested, the prosecution said. They readily pleaded guilty at the hearing.

Magistrate Chui imposed fines of $3,500 on Qazi, $1,000 on Chow and $750 on Cheung, depending on the number of their previous similar convictions.

Onate was fined $300,  while Baguio and Lancian, with previous similar convictions, drew $500 each. Fung, with three previous records, was fined $750.    

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On May 31, just over a month since the first operation, police again raided the same flat managed by Sarosh, and found four people gambling inside, including Filipina Cecilia Tejam, 51.

The officers again arrested Sarosh, as well as Tejam and male local residents Fan Sui-wing, 30; Raymond Chan Ka-chuen, 31, and Lam Chi-kuen, 32.

Of the four alleged gamblers, Tejam, Fan and Lam pleaded guilty while Chan said he was not guilty. Tejam was fined $800 and Fan $2,000. Lam, with five previous convictions, was slapped a $4,500 penalty.

Sarosh and Chan will stand trial in the same court on July 28. Sarosh for managing the illegal establishment, and Chan for illegal gambling.

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Distancing rules extended as local cluster now has 9 positive cases

By Daisy CL Mandap

The eight-to-a-group rule has been extended to Jun 18

The government has extended an eight-person limit on public gatherings until Jun 18 after four more residents of a Shatin public housing estate tested positive for Covid-19 today, Jun 2, bringing the total infections in the same building to six.

However, the resident who first tested positive has been linked to three other cases, raising the total number of infections in the cluster to nine.

Hong Kong’s total tally now stands at 1,093 with four deaths and 1,043 recoveries.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan dismissed a suggestion that the decision to extend the gathering limit was meant to deter anti-government protests, like the annual Jun 4 commemoration of the Tienanmen crackdown,

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“We are considering different factors based on public health and not other considerations,” Chan said.

She pointed out that the new local outbreak happened two days ago and was not planned.

The social distancing protocols are set to expire on Thursday, Jun 4.

Set for a longer extension is the ban on foreigners arriving in Hong Kong, which will now be in place for two more months, or until Sept 18. Returning residents will still be allowed in, but subject to the 14-day mandatory quarantine.

The ban on tourist arrivals will remain in place until Sept 18

At today’s press briefing by health officials, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said there were six new cases today.

Four are all women, aged between 56 and 78, and live in Lek Yuen estate where a couple who were diagnosed on Sunday, also live.

The first case in the cluster is a 34-year-old woman who was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital on Saturday in critical condition. Tests revealed she had the virus, along with her 56-year-old husband.

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Linked to her are her two female co-workers at Kerry Logistics in Kwai Chung, aged 36 and 40, who tested positive on Monday, raising the possibility that it was a workplace contamination.

Found infected on the same day was the 27-year-old ambulanceman who took her to hospital.

But the result of the tests on some 1,200 residents in Lek Yuen estate where she lives, now suggest the virus must have first spread in their building.

However, Chuang said "no architectural defect" was found in the pipes of their building, so it was not considered as the contamination route. Thus, she said there is no need to evacuate residents from the building. 

As in the case of the last local transmission detected two weeks ago, the source of the new outbreak remains unknown.

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Chuang said the two other cases recorded today are both classified as imported.

One is a 15-year-old boy who returned to Hong Kong last month from Pakistan, and was found positive after being tested again just before he was set to leave a quarantine facility.

The other is a 42-year-old woman who stayed in the quarantine center to look after an elderly relative who had also just returned from Pakistan.

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Filipina helper to face trial for alleged ill-treatment of 2 toddlers

By Vir B. Lumicao

The Filipina will be trieid in Eastern Court after denying the charge

A Filipina domestic helper will be tried in Eastern Court in September on eight counts of ill-treating her two young wards on four occasions last year.

Magistrate Bina Chainrai set the trial after the defendant, K.B., pleaded not guilty today, Jun 2, to ill-treating her employers’ children, aged 3 and 5, in the family’s flat on Conduit Road in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong.

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The prosecution said the incidents happened in April, June, July and August last year.

No other details of the alleged maltreatment were disclosed at the hearing.

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The Filipina was quiet and sullen as the magistrate and lawyers from the prosecution and defense panels discussed preparations for the trial.

The prosecution said it had obtained medical reports on the impact of the ill-treatment on the two victims. 

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Chainrai set the trial for Sept 7-8 after consulting lawyers for both sides.

She directed the prosecution to submit the facts of the case three days before the trial and the defense to prepare its objections to the video recorded interviews in writing.  

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The magistrate extended the bail of K.B. under the same terms and told her return to the court on the trial dates.  

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Over 2k more Filipino DHs lose jobs in May

By Vir B. Lumicao

Nearly 7,000 Filipino DHs have been displaced since Covid-19 struck HK in February

A total of 2,106 Filipino helpers lost their jobs in Hong Kong last month, according to the latest Immigration Department data, in line with a general drop in foreign domestic helper population.

The latest job losses brought the total Filipino DH population down to 212,855, or a drop of 6,873 since February, when the coronavirus contagion hit the city.

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Indonesian domestic helpers, the second-biggest FDH group in Hong Kong, saw their ranks in May shrink by 2,370 month-on-month, bringing their total population down to 165,377.

Despite the significant decrease in the number of FDHs last month, the figures still did not reflect the actual situation, as many helpers fired by employers or who broke their contracts could stay up to a month or longer, in line with an Immigration directive meant to ease the effects of travel restrictions in many countries.

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The job losses in Hong Kong comes as the Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment reported that nearly 100,000 OFWs displaced during the coronavirus crisis are stranded in various sites abroad.

The Dole command center in Manila recorded a total of 98,615 stranded workers as of May 29, based on reports from 40 Philippine labor posts abroad, including Hong Kong.

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Dole said the OFWs are either distressed workers seeking to be repatriated or those whose work contracts have expired but cannot return to the Philippines due to the absence of commercial flights.

Of the total stranded OFWs, Dole said 3,082 are in Asian countries while 83,483 are in the Middle East and 12,050 are in Europe and America.
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Officers of the Overseas Workers welfare Administration had said even before the coronavirus pandemic hit Hong Kong in late January that there was already an average of two terminations per day.

There could be more during the contagion crisis, according to the Mission for Migrant Workers, which based its estimate in April from an average of 2-3 terminations per day reported to them by walk-in clients seeking assistance.

The rate of terminations has visibly accelerated as more employers suffer business losses or unemployment as many companies reel from the economic impact of the Covid-19 contagion.

“The OFWs are either affected by lockdowns in their respective host countries — those distressed seeking to be repatriated or those whose work contracts have expired but cannot return to the Philippines due to the absence of commercial flights,” the Dole said in a statement.

Foreign domestic helper population in Hong Kong, 2020

As of end of Month/Year	Philippines	Indonesia	India	Other nationalities	Total -- all nationalities
Jan-20	219,728	170,898	4,838	4,657	400,121
Feb-20	217,654	171,291	4,857	4,619	398,421
Mar-20	218,002	170,318	4,818	4,594	397,732
Apr-20	215,061	167,747	4,723	4,493	392,024
May-20	212,855	165,377	4,664	4,446	387,342

Source: Immigration Department

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