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4 Indonesian DHs arrested for illegal dental work

Posted on 16 April 2021 No comments

By Daisy C L Mandap 

Many pseudo dentists advertise their services on social media

Four Indonesian domestic helpers who allegedly used a room in a guest house during Sundays and holidays to clean teeth and install dental braces on their fellow workers were arrested on Thursday and Friday by Immigration officers.

A statement released late on Friday in the government website said the Indonesians, aged between 31 to 35 years old, were arrested for breaching their conditions of stay by practicing dentistry without a license.

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The domestic helpers were reportedly picked up in their employers’ houses. Seized from them were several items, including business cards and an account book.

The illicit operation had reportedly been carried out by the accused for more than a year in a Mong Kok guesthouse.

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The government statement said Immigration was tipped off about the illicit operation, but was not given names or the specific times when the dental services were provided.

But “after an in-depth investigation and intelligence analysis,” Immigration officers managed to identify the suspects and track them down.

A Philippine TV documentary shows the ill-effects of having braces installed by hacks

Preliminary investigations reportedly showed that the helpers never received any formal dental training. Their employers were not aware of their illegal activity.

The statement said the investigation is ongoing, and that there is a possibility that more people will be arrested.

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“The arrested helpers have breached their conditions of stay. Apart from that, practicing dentistry without registration will also threaten the health and lives of Hong Kong citizens and will very likely increase the risk of the spread of the epidemic. The situation is absolutely unacceptable,” said the statement.

It also urged people who report crimes to provide more information to speed up the enforcement and investigation by authorities.

The selling of brackets, nylon binds and other equipment used for braces, as well as offers of brace installation, are often seen in social media posts by FDHs, including Filipinos.

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According to some posts on popular FDH sites, the brace installations are carried out in public openly, including on the pavements of Central.

The illegal practice continues despite warnings from dentists, including those in the Philippines, about the dangers of getting someone untrained to do the delicate procedure, which could lead to inflamed gums and tooth loss.

Construction sites were among the targeted locations

Meanwhile, Immigration today issued a statement on the government website that a total of 17 suspected illegal workers, including eight holders of recognizance documents, were arrested during joint operations with police between Apr 12 to 15.

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Ten suspected employers were also detained.

In two raids codenamed “Twilight” and “Rally”, 35 premises were targeted, including a commercial building, construction sites, factories, massage parlors, recycling depots, residential buildings, restaurants, retail shops, a salon and a warehouse.

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Six men and four women, aged 22 to 57, were arrested for suspected illegal work. Four were found to have recognizance status, while the rest were suspected of using and possessing forged HK ID cards.

Five men and one woman, aged 31 to 58, suspected of employing the illegal workers, were also arrested.


In a much bigger operation codenamed "Champion" and "Powerplayer",  136 premises were targeted including the airport cargo terminal, loading and unloading platforms in the New Territories and Western District, massage parlours, offices, a park and warehouses.

The operation netted five men and two women, aged 31 to 56, suspected of doing illegal work. Four of the men were on recognizance.

One man and three women, aged 40 to 54, were also arrested on suspicion of employing the illegal workers.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 
 

The Immigration statement warned that visitors who take up illegal work, whether paid or unpaid, could be liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment.

Illegal immigrants or those subject to a removal or deportation order who are found to engage in illegal work face a stiffer penalty of up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of $50,000.

For people who hire illegal workers, a steep fine of up to $350,000 is prescribed, apart from a maximum jail term of three years.

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Posted on No comments

 

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10 imported & 6 local Covid-19 cases reported

Posted on No comments

By The SUN

3 infected Indonesian DHs arrived at same time on a flight that has just been banned

Seven foreign domestic helpers were among 16 new Covid-19 cases reported in Hong Kong today, Apr 16.

Five of them had come from Indonesia, and three, aged 22, 32 and 40, flew in at the same time and tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong on Apr 14.

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This could have triggered an automatic suspension of the flight they took under stricter travel restrictions that took effect on the same day, but according to a staff of the Centre for Health Protection, the airline had already been suspended as of yesterday.

Flight PR 980 operated by Scoot Airlines from Singapore, was banned from coming to Hong Kong after one of its passengers on Apr 11 tested positive on arrival, and another was allowed to board despite failing to meet pre-boarding requirements.

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The two other Indonesian helpers, aged 40 and 41, tested positive while in hotel quarantine, so the new restrictions do not apply. In addition to having coronavirus, the older of the two was also found to have the N501Y variant.

The two other helpers were from the Philippines, and were also found infected while under quarantine. Both flew aboard Cebu Pacific flight 5J 272, but on different dates.

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One, who is 29 years old, came on Mar 25, and was found infected on her 19th day in quarantine. The other, who is 38, arrived on Apr 3 and tested positive on her second sample on the 12th day of quarantine. She also had the variant.

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Another new arrival found to have the virus and the variant is a 52-year-old woman from Pakistan. The two other imported cases are new arrivals from India, a 36-year-old man and an 8-year-old girl, who are both clear of the variant.

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Under new rules that took effect on Wednesday, a two-week flight ban would be imposed on a country if at least five passengers from there are found to have the variant on arrival, within a 7-day period.

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The banned place would also be classified as “extremely high risk,” meaning anyone who had stayed there for at least two hours, 21 days prior, would be stopped from boarding a flight to Hong Kong.


Meanwhile, the six local cases reported today were all linked to previous infections. Five are family members of a 29-year-old woman from Meadowlands in Yuen Long who was reported as infected yesterday.


Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

The sixth is linked to an outbreak at Oi Fai House in Tuen Mun, which led to a partial evacuation of the building.

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DH jailed nearly 17 months for stealing employer’s jewelry worth $295k

Posted on No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao

The accused pawned the jewelry for less than half their actual value (Photo illustration)

A Filipina domestic helper said she stole $295,000 in jewelry from her employer in May last year to pay for her sister’s cancer surgery, but a District Court judge ignored her excuse and sentence her yesterday, Apr 15.

The defendant, Revelyn Resurreccion, was sentenced by Judge Isaac Tam to 16 months and 20 days in prison after she pleaded guilty to the theft.

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The judge said the helper had committed a serious breach of trust and that her mitigation carried no weight that could lessen her sentence.

The helper, who has been detained without bail since her arrest on Oct 4 last year, has only less than a year left to serve her sentence.

Resurreccion, 44 years old and single, initially pleaded guilty on Jan 27 before Judge W.K. Kwok to a charge of stealing more than a dozen jewelry pieces owned by her female employer, Kwok Lai-chun, 55, in a flat in Yee King Court, South Horizons, in Ap Lei Chau.

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The prosecution yesterday said it had re-amended the charge with a list of the stolen items.

The charge said Resurreccion on May 1, 2020, stole five necklaces with a pendant each, a necklace with two pendants, five necklaces, 12 pairs of earrings, 20 rings, five bracelets and four wrist chains altogether valued at $294,917. They were all owned by Kwok.

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Prosecutor Mr Hui said Kwok hired the helper in 2014 and her latest contract was due to expire last Nov 19. He said the employer kept her jewelry in several boxes in an unlocked drawer at her computer desk and an unlocked secret compartment under her bed.

About 9pm on Sept 28 last year, the employer checked her jewelry boxes but discovered the jewelry pieces were gone. She also found a box with a silvery wrist chain that was not hers inside the drawer at her computer desk

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On Sept 29, Resurreccion admitted she had taken the jewelry and pawned them because she needed money. She gave Kwok the pawnshop receipts. The case was reported and the police arrested her.

The prosecution said that during investigation, the defendant admitted under caution she stole the jewelry on May 1 last year out of greed.

Hui said the woman pawned the stolen jewelry one by one between June and September 2020 for fear she would be discovered if she hocked them altogether. He said she placed the box with a silvery wrist chain in Kwok’s drawer to pretend it was the latter’s jewelry.

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The prosecutor said the helper admitted she needed money for the surgery of her elder sister, who was suffering from cancer. He said the helper had a clear record. Hui said the pawnshop receipts showed the helper hocked the stolen jewelry for a total of $133,560. 

District Court judge did not buy defendant's excuse that she stole to pay for sister's cancer treatment

In mitigation, defense lawyer Oliver Davies said Resurreccion had been a helper in the Philippines and Singapore before she came to Hong Kong. She had been working for most of her life for her parents, her siblings and their families, Davies said.

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The defendant, the second of four daughters in a family of six children, had been sending 80% of her salary to her parents, both 55, and her student niece and nephew.

She has two younger sisters, aged 29 and 24, who work as helpers in Hong Kong but they did not contribute to the family’s upkeep and medical expenses of their sister because they were saving for their marriages, the lawyer said.


When the elder sister needed surgery to remove her cancer growth, Resurreccion pawned some jewelry so she could send home Php200,000. She expected a new surgery in December, so she pawned the rest of the loot and sent money home.

Judge Tam asked Davies why his client was shouldering the financial burden alone when her two younger sisters were also working here. The lawyer said Resurreccion did not want to burden them.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

The prosecutor told the judge that the pawnshops agreed to return all the stolen jewelry to the employer under a deal in which Kwok pay back the pawnshops half of the $133,560 they had paid out to Resurreccion.

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Covid-19 crisis most unkind to MDWs, says Mission in annual report

Posted on No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao 

A worker dismissed last year due to the pandemic 


Migrant domestic workers worked longer hours and became more vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse last year as a result of the pandemic.

This was disclosed by the Mission for Migrant Workers in its Service Report for 2020 which was released Thursday, Apr 15, to coincide with the church-based charity’s 40th founding anniversary.

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“MDWs have been made to work longer hours, even during their rest days. And more worrisome, there is a resurgence in violence against women,” said Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, MFMW general manager.

“Though this pandemic has caused unwelcome changes for everyone, we cannot deny the fact that it has been most unkind to MDWs,” said Tellez. “Even before the pandemic, migrants had always been vulnerable due to their visa status.”

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According to data collated by MFMW, 17% of its clients reported having been physically abused or assaulted last year, a 2-percentage-point increase from 2019.

Six percent of the clients reported experiencing rape or sexual abuse last year compared with 2% the previous year, said Abdon-Tellez.

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Equally worrying, a whopping 34% of the workers who sought help from Mission reported they were not paid their wages. This was 10 times more than the 3% recorded in 2019, and meant that one out of three MDWs did not receive any salary at all.

The MFMW data also shows 69% of its clients had reported ill-treatment, or almost 7 out of every 10. This was far higher than the 25% posted in 2019.

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“Many migrant workers suffer silently because if they lose their job, they also lose their accommodation here because of the live-in requirement,” Abdon-Tellez said.

“With greater economic instability due to the pandemic, the workers are forced to suffer in deeper depths of despair,” she added.

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She said migrant workers bore the burden of stress undoubtedly experienced by their employers, especially the economic difficulty.

Tellez says many MDWs suffered 'in deeper depths of despair' last year

Emphasizing the workers’ vulnerability was the finding that 2% of MDWs reported getting entangled in money laundering while 4% were cyberbullied or harassed online.

“These issues are connected to love scams, wherein vulnerable women migrants are preyed upon by unscrupulous partners. This underscores the loneliness MDWs feel being far away from home and unable to go home for a visit,” said Abdon-Tellez.

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Obviously the most common complaint of the MDWs was working longer hours, with 98% of the clients reporting this kind of abuse, said Abdon-Tellez.

“Related to this, almost 1 in every 2 (or 46%) is made to work on her rest days, while more than 1 in every 3 (or 39%) are made to work on their statutory holidays,” Abdon-Tellez said.

“Of course, this translates to even more overworked MDWs who are also suffering from economic hardships. They are silent and invisible sufferers, and that means more help should be extended to them. If only migrant domestic workers had a live-out option, this could have been avoided,” she said.


On a positive note, the MFMW has helped its clients recover $3,230,624.47 in 2020. This is a 40% increase in claims compared with 2019.

Much of the settlements were the result of labor claims filed by MDWs whose contracts were terminated by their employers because of the economic hardship due to the pandemic.

The Mission also engages in advocacy work for migrant workers (File)

The 2020 Service Report also features the MFMW’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The MFMW referred 873 migrants to shelters, a 24% increase from last year. It also distributed 137,057 pieces of face masks and 6,218 bottles of hand sanitizers, with the help of fellow migrant advocates,” Abdon-Tellez said.

“Many MDWs have trouble procuring their own supply because either they are not included in the household they serve or due the prohibitive prices of these essentials. This underscores the vulnerability of migrants, especially in this pandemic,” she said.

The global crisis brought about the need for new services. In 2020, the MFMW started serving new migrants, or those who just arrived and were quarantined in hotels.


Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

Being new here, they had no resources yet, and thus had to put up with insufficient, repetitive and unhealthy food served them while under quarantine. Many were also not given basic provisions such as water.

The MFMW provided 3,511 hot meals to them, Abdon-Tellez said.

She said there were also 415 migrants who were given meal coupons good for two people or meal packs that could feed at least five people while staying in boarding houses in-between jobs, or because they were stranded by flight cancellations.

“We also provided other forms of support for those unable to be accommodated in shelters,” Abdon-Tellez recounted.

She said that due to the pandemic, MFMW shifted some of its activities online.

“Some of our 135 Life and Work Skills seminars and training classes were done online to reach more migrants. We also had our Migrant Festival online for International Migrants Day, as a celebration of MFMW's services throughout the year,” Abdon-Tellez said.

The Migrant Festival may be accessed with these links: https://youtu.be/aELAkyavSjo or https://www.facebook.com/watch/275507625853776/201793074885968

“To cope with the new services arising from the pandemic, the MFMW is calling on kind-hearted individuals, institutions, and corporate donors to support its programs by clicking https://www.migrants.net/to-donate. A $100 donation will feed and shelter a migrant for a day,” Abdon-Tellez said.

To download full version of “2020 Service Report”: https://www.migrants.net/reports

Support the Mission: https://www.migrants.net/to-donate

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Post-Easter virus outbreak in Yuen Long sends 50 to quarantine

Posted on 15 April 2021 No comments

By The SUN 

Meadowlands, where the couple lives, will now be subject to compulsory testing 

A couple who met up with several groups over the long Easter holiday and tested positive yesterday for Covid-19 has sent up to 50 of their close contacts to quarantine.

This was according to health officials who held a press briefing today, Thursday, on the coronavirus situation.

The couple who live in Meadowlands in Yuen Long were among six new infections reported today, four of them imported. The additional cases drove up the city’s total tally to 11,619.

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More than 10 preliminary cases were reported, five of them locally acquired. They are all linked to the 29-year-old woman who was reported infected today, including her parents and three other family members.

The four imported cases included two with the N501Y variant. One is a 39-year-old man who arrived from Italy, and the other, a 31-year-old man who came from France.

The two other cases who did not carry the variant are a 43-year-old woman who flew in from the Philippines, and a 4-month-old baby girl from India who arrived on Apr 4.

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According to Dr Ambrose Wong of the Centre for Health Protection, the local cases looked like a post-Easter outbreak.

Wong says the outbreak looks like an Easter holiday cluster

“It’s related to the Easter holiday. It’s quite obvious because the family gathered during the holiday. If all of them become confirmed, it will be one Easter holiday cluster,” he said.

The wife, who works as accounts manager at Quality Healthcare Nursing Agency in Kowloon Bay, felt unwell on Apr 9 but did not see a doctor and just took some over-the-counter medicines.'

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She saw a doctor last Monday after she lost her sense of taste, and tested positive yesterday. She lives with her husband and her parents.

Her husband, a 38-year-old property agent, started coughing on Sunday and was found infected at the same time.

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On Apr 2, the woman met up with eight other people at a friend’s house in Ngau Chi Wan. On Apr 3, 5 and 9 she visited her in-laws at their home in Siu Sai Wan Estate. About seven family members were present.

Her uncle, aunt and 14-year-old cousin also visited her at home and all of them are now also preliminary positive.

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Among the other places the woman visited during the incubation period were a noodle shop in Mongkok and a law firm in Central, both on Mar 30. On Apr 4, she also visited a ramen restaurant in Yuen Long with her husband and mother.

On Apr 5 she visited a shop in Kwun Tong and another one in Island Resort Mall on Apr 10. She also visited a nail shop in Mong Kok on the same day.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

All the places she visited will be closed for disinfection for 14 days and the staff there tested while her close contacts will be sent to quarantine.

Also subjected to the same orders are the school that her cousin attended, and the offices where her aunt and uncle worked at in Kwai Chung.

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