 |
| Aleli and Imee tells MWO officers they survived on wild fruits in the forest |
The two Filipina domestic workers who were found by police at about 10:30pm Thursday in Shatin after missing for 12 days. are set to go home next week after their respective employers terminated their employment contracts.
The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) said 24-year-old Imee M. Pabuaya will leave on
October 20 as her employer gave notice of termination when she was reported
missing on October 6. Aleli P. Tibay, 33, will go home on October 22 as her
employer terminated their contract two days after, or on October 8.
Under Hong Kong employment laws, foreign domestic workers must leave within 14 days after the termination of their work contracts, unless this was done under exceptional circumstances, like when they were abused, or their employer resettles in another country.
 |
MWO officers who fetched
them from the Shatin Police Station last night said the two were dressed in the
same clothes they were seen wearing in a surveillance video in Tsuen Wan in the afternoon
of October 4 when they were went missing, except for Aleli who had changed into
a white shirt after reportedly getting wet.
Both will be returning home virtually empty-handed.
Imee will be paid for the three days that she had worked before missing, while
Aleli will not receive anything.
As the police said after both were found last night,
the two were in good health.
 |
| Pindutin para sa detalye |
MWO officers who took them to a shelter and gave
them immediate counseling said the two had told them that they got lost in the
forest in Tsuen Wan.
“Naligo lang
daw po sila sa ilog at ang kinain nila ay bunga ng baging,” “ said one MWO
officer assisting them. (They swam in the river and survived on fruits of
overhanging vines).
At least one netizen said in a Facebook post that
she saw the two at the Fu Yang Shang barbecue site, about 1 km away from the
Tsuen Wan MTR station. Another unconfirmed report said they were spotted at the
Lei Muk Shue Shopping Center nearby.
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
Hiking posts online say the walk from Lei Muk Shue to
Shatin called the ‘Needle Hill Hike” is a scenic but challenging one, bypassing
a part of the rugged Maclehose Trail. The distance totals about 8 km and could
be covered by seasoned hikers for three hours, but not by inexperienced ones
who could get easily lost in the trail.
Imee and Aleli claim they could not use their mobile
phones when they realized they got lost because one got wet in the water, while
the other’s battery drained as they used it as a flashlight.
“Sinabi nila hindi daw sila nakababa ng bundok hanggang kagabi,” said the MWO officer (They said they managed to get off the mountains only last night).
When asked about the reported sighting of them in
Lei Muk Shue a day earlier, they said they they would have welcomed getting away
from the mountains as they experienced extreme difficulty there.
“Nasabi nila
na akala nila hindi na sila makakalabas ng bundok.” (They also said they
thought they would never be able to get off the mountain).
When fetched at the police station, the two
reportedly had three pomelos with them, and said they plucked them from a tree
in the mountains.
MWO said the two declined to be interviewed, saying
they are not ready, but agreed to share their story to the officers assisting
them.
 |
| Secretary Cacdac holds press briefing to report that the OFWs have been found |
In a press conference held earlier today, Secretary
Hans Cacdac of the Department of Migrant Workers assured reporters that the two
OFWs are “both in good condition, safe and sound.”
He added they are currently receiving psychological
counseling from MWO and will undergo a medical check-up within the day.
MWO will help them get their belongings back from
their employers’ respective houses, and will help in their repatriation.
“Salamat sa ating mga team sa Hong Kong at sa local na
pamahalaan doon. Dahil sa kanilang mabilis na pagtugon, ligtas na ngayon ang
ating mga kababayan,” said Cacdac. (Thanks to our team in HK and to the local
government there. Because of their immediate action, our OFWs are now safe).
MWO records show Imee, the younger of the two, had been in Hong Kong
for only nine months, while Aleli had worked here since 2017.
