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| The Filipina was found hanging inside a flat in this luxury estate |
“Pwede ko pong makita ang labi ng asawa ko if sya talaga?” (May I see the remains of my wife if it’s really her?)
This was the
anguished plea of a man from Aklan province in the Philippines, after being
told his wife who had worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong for only three
months, had taken her own life in her employer’s flat in mid-Levels.
Police records show
the 33-year-old Filipina who had previously worked in the Middle East was found
to have hanged herself using a piece of curtain cloth, in the afternoon of
September 12 (Saturday).
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
A resident of the
flat in Bowen Place, 11A Bowen Road, called the police at 5:33pm, after which the helper was
taken down. She was taken unconscious to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, where
she was declared dead.
A suicide note was
reportedly found at the scene, indicating unpaid debts as the reason for the
suicide.
The police report
said an autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death.
It was the second
reported suicide of a Filipina domestic worker in just three days. On September
9, a 36-year-old Filipina was found to have hanged herself with a rope inside
her employer’s flat in Pok Fu Lam, also because of debt.
The victim’s husband
said he was visited by staff of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to
tell him about his wife’s death, but was told that “ang mga nakakataas” (higher-ups) would be the ones to inform him
about the cause.
The husband then
sought help from his fellow Aklanons who are in Hong Kong to get more
information about his wife’s death, and to beg if he could at least see a picture
of the deceased to prove that it was really she who died.
He said the last
time they spoke was about two weeks earlier, after she sent money to
him and their three young children for the first time.
Comments posted on
social media by anguished relatives said the deceased gave no indications of
what she was going through, even during a conversation with one of them the day
before she took her life.
But during her
talk with her husband, the deceased reportedly complained about her mounting
debts, including one she obtained online, for which she was charged a high
interest.
The victim had
reportedly not been home since she left to work for the Middle East two years
ago, leaving behind her husband and three children aged 7, 9, and 13, in New Washington, Aklan. From there, she went directly to Hong Kong to start working as a domestic
helper.
It took OWWA
sometime to reach the victim’s husband, as she had reportedly indicated her
grandmother as her next-of-kin. Friends say the grandmother died about three
months, around the time she moved to Hong Kong.
One of her provincemates
who is in Hong Kong said the deceased’s relatives are asking if they could see
even just pictures of her if a wake is to be held here.
“Hindi naman namin alam kung saan para
mapuntahan,” said the Hong Kong-based friend. (But we don’t even know where
we could go to see her remains).
But recently, they
were told that her remains are now at Victoria mortuary in Kennedy Town, and
that her employer is working on the repatriation.
Those who are feeling depressed are advised to seek professional help immediately, either through the Migrant Workers Office hotline (6345 9324) or NGOs like the Mission for Migrant Workers (9529 2326). They can also call the 24-hour multi-lingual hotline of the Samaritans, 28960000.
