Filipinas recall drowning of Nepalese woman in popular FDH haunt

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The white sign board just beside the main stream warns  people not to swim there

Filipina picknickers were among those who were at a waterfall frequented by domestic workers in Tsuen Wan when a Nepalese woman went missing on Saturday, Jul 24, and was later found to have drowned.

Police said the 23-year-old drowning victim, who was not a domestic helper, and her Filipina friend, had gone to Tso Kung Tam Stream for a picnic. The two played in the water and, shortly later, the Filipina noticed that her friend was missing.

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Around 6pm, the Tsuen Wan Police District received a 999 call from the Filipina who reported that her Nepalese friend was missing, the spokeswoman said.

The police station was just about 400 meters from the waterfall, so rescue personnel arrived within minutes and launched a search assisted by a team of divers.

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The missing woman was later found unconscious in the water. She was taken by ambulance to the Yanchai Hospital in Tsuen Wan but was declared dead on arrival, the spokeswoman said.

The officer said the victim’s death was classified as drowning.

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A group of Filipinas who were at the popular site at the same time said no one noticed that the victim was in trouble, until her friend went around asking the groups of visitors whether they had seen her companion.

“At past 5pm, the Filipina approached our group and asked if we had seen her Nepalese companion,” said Rachell Cipriano, an administrator of the Facebook group DWC Help Group who was at the picnic site with three friends at the time.

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“The Pinay said she last saw her friend swimming in the water while she was busy tidying up their belongings on the bank of the stream. When she looked again after about 10 minutes, her friend was gone,” Cipriano said.

The Filipina searched frantically for her friend for about half an hour and then approached Cipriano’s group again, crying.

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“I pointed out to her that her friend had been gone for some time but her belongings were still on the spot, so it’s not possible that she’d gone home. We advised her to call 999,” Cipriano said.

There are shallow parts of the stream where visitors can soak or swim safely

Cipriano said there was quite a large crowd of about 40 people at the waterfall last Saturday. The water level was high because of the rains, she said.

When the other picnickers heard that a woman was missing, they packed up and left earlier than usual, said Cipriano. She added that two other Filipinas arrived, but they left after hearing that somebody had disappeared.

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The natural pool at the bottom of the main waterfall is estimated by swimmers to be more than 10 feet deep, and very few people swim there. But all around are shallow mini-pools where picknickers can soak or swim safely.

Just two Saturdays earlier, a Filipina who belongs to DWC slipped and fell into the stream during a picnic. Fortunately, her colleagues saw her struggling in the water and a member who was a swimmer rescued her.

Various signs posted at or near the waterfall warn people not to swim in the deep pool, saying people had already drowned there.

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Filipina DH loses $12k, passport and HKID on Chater Road

By The SUN

 

Many thefts occur on Chater Road, even if it is packed with people on Sundays 

A Filipina domestic helper set to go home for good on Aug 2 became the latest victim of light-fingered thieves in Central.

A post on the Mission for Migrant Workers Facebook page late on Sunday, Jul 25, said migrant worker Rizalyn M. Caro lost her bag containing cash and valuable documents in front of St George’s building on Chater Road earlier that day.

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Among the items in her bag was $12,000 cash, her Philippine passport, HK ID card, HSBC card, Octopus card, Cebu Pacific air ticket, a sealed letter from Immigration which she is supposed to hand in at the Hong Kong International Airport, two wallets, one bag and T-shirts.

The appeal first asked anyone “who mistakenly took the bag” to return it immediately to the Central Police Station or to the office of the Mission. Anyone with information was asked to call or send a message to an indicated number.

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But an update to the post said Caro’s bag was found along with her wallet, both of which had been emptied. There was no information as to where the missing items had been dumped after the thief emptied them of their contents.

Caro is just appealing to anyone who could give back all the important documents that she needs so she can go home as scheduled, a week from now.

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This is not the first time that migrant workers have lost their entire bags and other valuables to thieves on Chater Road, a favorite hang-out of Filipinos in Hong Kong.

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Despite the hundreds of people who line up the busy street on Sundays, several thefts have occurred there, prompting mainstays like members of Unifil-Migrante and the Mission to keep reminding people not to leave their bags unattended.

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3 new imported cases all have mutant strain linked to Delta variant

By Daisy CL Mandap

Two of the new cases tested positive on arrival, while 1 was found infected on 3rd day test

Three new imported cases of Covid-19 were reported in Hong Kong today, Jul 25, and all carried the L452R mutant strain commonly associated with the Delta variant.

The three include a 31-year-old female returnee who had been to Spain, Greece, Italy and Switzerland during the incubation period. She had two doses of the Moderna vaccine in the United States, said a staff member of the Centre for Health Protection.

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She tested positive on her third-day sample while spending her hotel quarantine at Dorsett Hotel in Wanchai.

The two others are both male seafarers: a 38-year-old who came from Tanzania, and a 35-year-old who flew in from Russia. Both arrived on Jul 23 and tested positive at the airport.\

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They took the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong 11,979.

Yuen says vaccinated travelers can quarantine for 7 days, but only if they came from low-risk places

Meanwhile one of the city’s leading microbiologists has said that there is no need to extend the quarantine period of fully vaccinated residents flying in from low-risk countries from the currently seven days.\

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Speaking to reporters after a seminar, Professor Yuen Kwok-yeung of the University of Hong Kong said most positive cases in such people would be found within the first seven days.

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Currently, arrivals from the mainland, Macau, Australia and New Zealand are required to do only seven days of quarantine if they are able to show proof that they have had two shots of a Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days earlier.

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However, Yuen said that Hong Kong must have a vaccination rate of that least 90% for social distancing measures to be relaxed.

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This is despite the pronouncement of most experts that herd immunity could be acquired if at least 70% of all qualified residents in a certain place are vaccinated.

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Yuen said, “You need more than 90% to be safe.”

If only 70% of the population was vaccinated, it would mean 30% are still not protected. “That’s over two million people, there could still be outbreaks,” he said.

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HK-based musician-writer William Elvin launches first single as contract artist

 By The SUN 

William Elvin is now one of a select group of Filipino musicians signed up by O/C Records
(photo courtesy of Leeh Ann Hidalgo and Rilina Ameerah)

Hong Kong-based singer and songwriter William Elvin has just released his first single under O/C Records, after being an independent artist for almost two decades.

The newly released track, ‘Ang Sabi Nila,’ became a cult favorite among Filipino theater lovers after it was included as a soundtrack of the hit musical play, ‘Mula Sa Buwan,’ the Filipino adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, which William Elvin had co-written with his friend, Pat Vale.

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O/C Records, which was launched three years ago, is co-owned by Kean Cipriano, Callalily frontman; and his wife, actress Chynna Ortaleza, along with Viva Entertainment’s Vic del Rosario.

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The song's release under O/C records is William’s way of retelling the story that he first shared in his famous play. While the song’s instrumental and arrangement for the musical play was intended to sound grand and lush, this new version takes a sparser approach as it scales back to the original arrangement, evoking a feeling of yearning, isolation and loneliness.

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William Elvin says ‘Ang Sabi Nila’, which he wrote around 2002-2003 in his hot and dusty bedroom in Fairview, Quezon City, chronicles the gentle stream of his heartbreak experiences.

“This song is basically about dwelling on painful memories, not just romantic ones, but every painful memory you carry as a person,” he explains.

When he wrote it, William Elvin was still playing with a rock band, exploring his musical influences and figuring out his songwriting voice. The song built his confidence about his lyrical and musical capabilities, said the artist.

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“I just want listeners to know that while it is okay to dwell on painful memories – whatever they may be, and we all have a few – the only way to move forward is to let go of it,” he shares, but adds that this may be easier said than done, as music is meant to be cathartic.

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William Elvin, who used to write for The SUN, is now connected with a leading PR firm in Hong Kong.  

'Ang Sabi Nila’, released on July 23rd, is now out on all digital streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.

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Here’s a link to William Elvin singing it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlPOGV52DIs

Watch and listen to William Elvin and Kuya Q on "Tribong Pinoy," a show they co-host live on  The SUN Hong Kong Facebook page on alternate Wednesdays, 9:30pm to 10:30 pm.

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Saudi diplomat’s daughter listed in critical condition

By Daisy CL Mandap

A lockdown on Tuesday of the Tai Koo building where the family lives did not yield any new infection

The 13-year-old daughter of a Saudi Arabian diplomat in Hong Kong was listed in critical condition today, Jul 24, four days after testing positive for Covid-19 and being found with the highly infectious L452R strain of the virus.

The news comes as two more imported cases were reported today. The first involves a 36-year-old man who flew in from the United Arab Emirates, and the second is a 26-year-old woman who came from the United States.

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Both patients are asymptomatic and were found infected during hotel quarantine.

The infection of the diplomat’s daughter created a stir earlier this week as she was found to have gone to several places in the city, along with her 11-year-old brother, while supposedly under home quarantine since their arrival on Jul 16 from Saudi Arabia.

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As children of a diplomatic officer, they were exempt from quarantine, but they should have spent a period of home isolation in their residence at Tang Kung Mansion in Taikoo Shing, Quarry Bay.

The boy also tested positive for Covid-19 but the result of his test for the mutant strain commonly linked to the Delta variant, has not been disclosed.

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The girl developed symptoms on Jul 17, but despite this, she and her brother went to various places. The girl went to Citygate mall and Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car station in Tung Chung, while her brother had been to The Peak.

Authorities later disclosed the girl had also gone to Apita and Zara at Cityplaza mall in Taikoo Shing

 

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The siblings were first reported to have tested preliminary positive on Jul 19, sparking a lockdown of their residential building.

After their cases were confirmed the next day, other members of their household, including their father, elder sister, a driver and a domestic helper, were sent to a quarantine camp.

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The Department of Health said then that high-ranking consulate officials and their immediate families can be exempted from quarantine at designated hotels but they must comply with certain restrictions, like being driven from the airport direct to their home for self-isolation.

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Including the diplomat’s daughter, there are 32 patients hospitalized in nine public hospitals and the infection control centre in North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong.

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One patient is in serious condition, while the other 30 patients are in stable condition.

So far, a total of 11,696 patients with confirmed or probable infection have been discharged. 

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Filipina DH in coma after falling from employer’s flat

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The Filipina reportedly fell from the 4th floor flat of her employer in Regal Court 

A 40-year-old Filipina domestic helper remains in coma at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after falling from the fourth-floor flat of her employer at Regal Court, 94 Waterloo Road in Kowloon City yesterday, Jul 23.

Hong Kong Police said they received a report from the estate’s security guard at 1:49pm yesterday, saying that the woman was found lying on the ground at the address, and she was suspected to have fallen from height.

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The woman, who they confirmed is a Filipina, was rushed to hospital. She was reportedly still unconscious as of last night.

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Local media reports said earlier she fell while cleaning a window, but a police spokesperson said this was still being investigated. He also said no suicide note was found at the scene.

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Welfare Officer Virsie Tamayao at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said they had been in touch with the employer after being told about the worker’s fall.

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“When the employer was told that the report we received said the subject reportedly fell from the fourth floor while cleaning the window, she did not refute,” said Tamayao. “However, (this is still) under police investigation.”

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Tamayao said she hopes to be given permission by the hospital to visit the patient on Monday.

Dangerous window-cleaning, or that which is done from outside an elevated flat, or where more than just one's arm is extended to clean the outside part of the window, is strictly prohibited under the standard employment contract of FDHs.

In addition to labor prosecution, the employer can be held liable to pay employee compensation in case of injuries or death of an FDH who fell while doing the prohibited act.

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OWWA records show the worker was deployed to Hong Kong only on Aug 24, 2018. She hails from Basilan City.

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