Migrant support groups demand swift justice for Eden

 By Daisy CL Mandap 

AMCB's announcement of a Jun 11 press conference to call justice for Eden

Friday, Jun 11, was Eden P’s 37^th birthday. Instead of celebrating, she had to go early to Hong Kong Immigration to submit a report on how her former employer had allegedly detained her at home since she arrived there in September 2020, and subjected her to repeated assaults.

In the afternoon, she went to the Labour Department to also file a report on the events that made her flee the 35-year-old employer’s house in Serenade Cove, Tsuen Wan on May 30, and inform the office that she would be helped by a human rights lawyer in pursuing her claims.

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To cap the day, Eden was given a small dinner party at the shelter where she is staying temporarily, a small way of assuring her that she is finally free of the nightmare of the past 14 months.

But even more importantly, her case was taken up on the same day by various migrant support organizations which have vowed to help her pursue justice for the alleged assault and illegal detention committed against her by her employer, who is a secondary school teacher and mother of two young boys.

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In a press conference hosted by the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, the rights advocates likened Eden’s case to that of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, the Indonesian domestic worker who suffered eight months of torture at the hands of her employer back in 2014.

“Before it was Erwiana, now it is Eden. Who will be next?,” asked Eni Lestari, chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA).

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AMCB said in a statement that Erwiana’s case is still fresh in the minds of many migrant workers, so Eden’s ordeal did not come as a big surprise. Still, the group said it strongly condemned the alleged abuse suffered by Eden, and called on the Hong Kong government to act fast in ensuring justice is served her.

The group’s chair, Dolores Balladares said, “The government must move fast not just to investigate the accusations of Eden against her employer, but further ensure a swift and speedy trial of her employer.”

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She also urged the government to end its so-called discriminatory policies towards FDHs like the so-called “job hopping” restriction which prohibits terminated workers from processing a new work contract in Hong Kong once Immigration deems that they changed employers on a whim.

Lestari echoed the call, saying many domestic workers are abused because of the government’s anti-migrant policies like the mandatory live-in arrangement, and giving them only 14 days to remain in Hong Kong after they are terminated by their employers.

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She cited what District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock had said in sentencing Erwiana’s employer, Law Wan-tung to six months in jail, that the horrific abuse that the helper suffered would not have happened if the government did not compel FDHs to live-in with their employers.

The pandemic has made the situation worse, she said, because many employers now use this as an excuse to forbid their domestic workers from taking a day-off, as in the case of Eden.

“Before it (day-off) was every Sunday, now it  has become a matter of negotiation,” said Lestari, citing the Hong Kong Labour Department’s advice to employers and domestic helpers to agree on when the worker can take a day-off, and hinting that the rest day could be spent in the employer’s home.

Lestari says getting a weekly rest day is a matter of human rights, even during pandemic

“This is about human rights, you need at least one day a week to rest,” said Lestari. She said workers are tired and need to relax with friends, or to meet new ones.

She called on the Labour Department to set up a hotline that MDWs could call if they are prevented from leaving their employer’s house or encounter any other difficulties relating to the pandemic.

Eden escaped from the house of her employer, Mrs Mak, early on May 30, while the woman, her husband and two young sons had gone out for the day. The Filipina had bruises all over her body, many of them healed or healing, but there were also two big contusions on her thighs and her abdomen which looked fresh. 

Eden said that she was badly assaulted by Mak on May 25 and 29, only because her 19-month-old ward was crying in both instances, and did not finish his food. 

The helper claimed that on both days she was slapped by her employer repeatedly on both cheeks, and on May 25, she was hit repeatedly with a metal food-turner on both her thighs and stomach.

The bruises on her thighs were caused by a metal food-turner, Eden claims

In the last incident, she claimed she was also punched hard on her chest and back, and then scratched on the face and back, causing both parts to hurt and bleed. But what really alarmed her was when Mak reportedly threatened to kill her.

In subsequent statements she made to police, Eden said that in the past, Mak subjected her to repeated assaults including banging her head against the wall, scratching her deeply in the back, and at one time, forcing her to eat congee mixed with dishwashing detergent.

Eden said her male employer, a physiotherapist, did not know of the assaults because Mak always hurt her when her husband was not around, and hit her only in parts covered by her clothes.

A police spokesperson said Shatin Police arrested the 35-year-old employer on May 31 but released her on the same day on police bail.

 

  

No new infection in HK as variant cluster continues to baffle experts

By Vir B. Lumicao

850 other residents of the Tin Shui Wai block where the variant patients live have tested negative

Hong Kong reported no new coronavirus case today, Jun 13, but continues to watch fewer than five preliminary positive, mostly imported cases. 

This is the sixth day that Hong Kong has not recorded a local case since June 7, when a 20-year-old female student was confirmed to carry the mutant strain of the coronavirus, the third member of her family to be found with the variant whose source remains unknown.

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The Centre for Health Protection said there are now 11,877 confirmed cases in Hong Kong.

The Hospital Authority said as at 9am today, 39 confirmed patients were being treated in 13 public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre. One of them is in critical condition, another is serious and the remaining 37 patients are stable.

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A total of 40 cases have been reported in the past 14 days starting May 30, including the two sisters and their mother, all carriers of the N501Y variant, who live together in Tin Shui Wai.

The cluster was uncovered after the index patient, a 17-year-old female student, developed symptoms and was found infected after going to a community testing centre.

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No other person outside of their family has been found to carry the so-called Alpha strain of the virus first found in the United Kingdom.

Hui says the source of the family's infection most likely came from abroad

David Hui, an infectious disease expert from the Chinese University, told media people on Saturday that officials were still struggling to find the source of the girl’s highly communicable infection that snapped 42 days of no untraceable cases in the city.

Hui, who advises the government on its anti-Covid 19 campaign, said it was unlikely this case involves an undiscovered mutated strain from Hong Kong.

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 “I think it’s probably someone that has entered Hong Kong and finished the 21-day hotel quarantine with a long incubation period and then he or she developed some infection, and infected the 17-year-old girl,” Hui was quoted by RTHK as saying.

Local experts who matched the girl’s genome sequencing pattern with other cases have failed to find the infection source.

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They said this was probably due to some developing countries not doing genome sequencing frequently, thus not uploading information to the World Health Organization and other websites that would make tracing of infection source easier.

Meanwhile, the CHP reminded those who had visited specified venues under the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599J) to receive Covid-19 nucleic acid testing according to the compulsory testing notice.

The regulation requires all household members of close contacts of confirmed cases to undergo a Covid-19 nucleic acid test within a specified period published in the Gazette. Members of the public are also urged to seek medical attention early if symptoms develop and undergo testing as soon as possible.
 

CX flight from Indonesia suspended after 3 passengers test positive for Covid-19

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

CX flight from Jakarta arrived with 3 infected passengers, two of them with mutant virus

Cathay Pacific Airways has been banned from flying from Indonesia for two weeks starting today, Jun 12, after three of its passengers from Jakarta tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Hong Kong yesterday.

According to a statement issued today by the Centre for Health Protection, passenger flight CX 798 has been suspended from flying to Hong Kong from Jun 12 to 25 after three of its passengers were confirmed to have Covid-19 by arrival tests.

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The three passengers, all female domestic helpers, were the only confirmed cases reported today by CHP. Two of them are aged 32, and the other is 39. According to a CHP staff, two were found to carry a mutant strain of the virus.

Fewer than five preliminary positive cases were also reported.

Garuda Indonesia remains suspended until Jun 15 for flying in 4 infected passengers

It is the second time that a passenger flight from Indonesia has been banned in the past 10 days. On Jun 2, Indonesia’s flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, was also suspended from flying into Hong Kong for two weeks after four of its passengers tested positive on arrival. Three carried a mutated virus.

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Had the infections been detected within a week, they would have triggered a ban on all flights from Indonesia, in line with stricter restrictions imposed by Hong Kong on May 4. Under the new rules, a country ban is imposed if at least five passengers from a place are found to carry the variant on arrival, within a span of seven days.

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The new confirmed cases took Hong Kong’s total tally to 11,877.

In its statement today, the government again urged all residents to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Those who want more information can check the vaccination programme website: www.covidvaccine.gov.hk.

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For the latest updates on the Covid-19 situation, log on to the thematic website, www.coronavirus.gov.hk. Members of the public may also gain access to information via the WhatsApp Helpline, 9617 1823 in their phone contacts or clicking the link wa.me/85296171823?text=hi.

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Filipina who kept friend’s HKID lands in jail, loses new job

By Vir B. Lumicao 

It is an offence to keep someone else's HKID card without authority or reasonable excuse

A Filipina domestic helper who should be working by now for a new employer is in jail after she was found in possession of the Hong Kong ID card of her friend who has returned home.

M.K. Maing appeared last Tuesday before Magistrate Peter Law in Eastern Court, where she is charged with “possession of a Hong Kong identity card relating to another person” and “breach of condition of stay” for overstaying her visa.

Maing has been in police custody since May 12, when she was arrested during a spot check after officers found two HKID cards in her wallet, the one issued to her by the Immigration Department and another belonging to her friend.

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The police also discovered that her employment visa had already expired.

However, Edwina Antonio of the Mission for Migrant Workers who assisted Maing in the case, said the helper was due to claim her new work visa on May 20 so she could move in with her new employer.

But because of her arrest, the would-be employer has backed out.

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Antonio said Maing’s case should serve as a lesson to others not to keep someone else’s HK ID card for whatever reason.

“Kaya dapat malaman ng mga kababayan natin na hindi nila dapat itinatago ang HKID ng kapwa worker na napupulot nila dahil labag sa batas iyon,” said Antonio. (That’s why our fellow Filipinos should know that it is against the law to keep the HKID of their fellow workers that they find.)

Antonio said when a worker finds a lost HKID or Octopus card on the street, on public transports such as the MTR or buses, the first thing to do is to turn it over to the police as soon as possible.

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They can also turn the HKID card to the Consulate or to Hong Kong Immigration as soon as possible, she said.

“Huwag na huwag nilang itago ang napupulot nilang HKID o Octopus card ng iba dahil magkakaproblema sila, tulad nitong kababayan natin,” Antonio said. (They must never keep any HKID card or Octopus card of other persons that they find because if these were found in their possession, they will have a problem, like our compatriot.)

Antonio says anyone who finds a HKID should turn it over to the police at once

Under the Registration of Persons Ordinance, any person without lawful authority or reasonable excuse who keeps or possesses an identity card issued to another person could be liable to a maximum penalty of $100,000 fine and imprisonment for 10 years.

Maing remains in custody because her offer to post bail for $1,200 was rejected by the magistrate after the prosecution objected, citing the seriousness of the allegation against her and her lack of local ties.

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Antonio, who also manages the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, said she offered the shelter as Maing’s address while on bail, but the duty lawyer forgot to mention this to the magistrate.

As a result, the helper was remanded in custody, but at the magistrate’s advice, is set to return to court this coming Tuesday to re-file her bail application.

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No Covid-19 case reported as Korea & Colombia classified as ‘high risk’

By The SUN 

It's zero Covid-19 day in HK, but authorities are taking no chances

The Centre for Health Protection reported no new Covid-19 case today, Jun 11, the first  zero-infection day for Hong Kong since May 28. As a result, the city’s total tally remains at 11,874.

Health officials remain on high alert, though, as the source of infection of three local variant carriers detected earlier this month remains unknown.

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Meanwhile, Hong Kong has downgraded Korea and Colombia from Group C to Group B specified places with effect from June 18, meaning they will be categorized as “high risk” instead of just “medium risk.”

As such, travelers from the two countries will have to present a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure for Hong Kong, in addition to confirmed reservation in a designated quarantine hotel.

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If the traveler is fully vaccinated, the quarantine period will still be shortened to 14 days, with three tests to be conducted during the period, followed by seven days’ self-monitoring. They will also have to be tested again on the 16^th and 19^th day of arrival in Hong Kong.

Those who have not been taken two doses of a coronavirus vaccine at least 14 days before traveling to Hong Kong will have to stay in a quarantine hotel for 21 days.

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For those flying in from medium-risk countries, no negative test result is required prior to boarding, but the quarantine rules are the same.

Vaccinated travelers from 'high-risk' places like Indonesia can quarantine for 14 days

Those currently designated as “high risk” places apart from the two additions are: Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Vietnam.

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A group of health experts has recently proposed that the quarantine period for all vaccinated travelers, save those coming from "very" to "extremely" high-risk places be further cut down to seven days, with self-monitoring for another week.

Currently, only Ireland is designated as “very high risk”, and this means that travelers from this country, vaccinated or not, must quarantine in a hotel for 21 days, and submit a negative test result prior to boarding. Two more tests are also required after the quarantine period.

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The strictest restrictions apply to places designated as “extremely high risk” which right now include Brazil, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa.

A flight ban has been imposed on these designated countries owing to their high Covid infection rate, the prevalence of the more infectious coronavirus variants, and the low vaccination rate.

Hong Kong has imposed no time limit to the ban, but said it would review “the epidemic situation in each place, the prevalence of new virus variants, vaccination progress, and changes in the volume of cross-boundary passenger traffic” before deciding on whether the entry restrictions should be eased.

Details on the grouping of specified places and their respective boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements can be found at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html. 

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26 people arrested in anti-illegal work operation in 94 places

By The SUN 

Some of the suspects were arrested in the airport cargo terminal

A series of raids staged this week by Immigration and police officers led to the arrest of 19 suspected illegal workers and seven people believed to have hired them.

The 26 offenders were caught in 94 locations targeted by the raiding teams in operations codenamed “Twilight” and “Champion” from Jun 7 to 10, the Immigration Department said in a press release. The nationalities of those arrested was not disclosed.

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In Operation “Twilight,” Immigration officers raided 39 locations including a car park, factories, garbage collection depots, a massage parlor, premises under renovation, retail shops, residential buildings, restaurants and a warehouse. 

Eight suspected illegal workers comprising two men and six women aged 41 to 59, and four suspected employers were arrested.

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Two of the men were holding recognizance forms, which prohibit them from taking any jobs. Three of the women were suspected of using and having forged HK ID cards. Their suspected employers, two men and two women aged 53 to 60, were also arrested.

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Operation “Champion” raids held jointly with the police targeted 55 locations at the Hong Kong International Airport cargo terminal, Kwai Chung, Tsing Yi and Tsuen Wan, including a car park, industrial buildings, loading/unloading platforms, offices, restaurants, warehouses and a wet market.

Ten suspected illegal workers, all men, aged 26 to 48 were arrested. Nine of them held recognizance forms. Also arrested was a 30-year-old suspected illegal immigrant.

Two men and a woman, aged 38 to 68, were also arrested on suspicion of employing the illegal workers.

Officers display some of the items seized from the suspects

An Immigration statement said anyone who breaches his or her conditions of stay commits an offence. Visitors, recognizance holders or those subject to deportation  are also reminded that they are not allowed to work in Hong  Kong, whether paid or unpaid, unless permitted by the Director of Immigration.

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“Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties,” the statement said.

The penalty is more severe for illegal immigrants or people who are subject to removal or deportation found doing illegal work. The prescribed maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for three years. However, a guideline ruling from the Court of Appeal says 15-month imprisonment should be applied in al these case.

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For those found using or possessing a forged Hong Kong identity card, or one belonging to another person, the maximum sentence is $100,000 fine and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Suspected employers of illegal workers, on the other hand, face up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of $350,000.

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Filipina DH wins labour claim despite employer’s absence

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Zerrudo wins her remaining labour claims, even in her employer's absence

Has your employer suddenly disappeared, leaving you with thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and other claims under your work contract? Worry no more, as the Labour Tribunal provides workers with a way to collect money owed them by their absent employers.

Filipina domestic worker C.A.B. Zerrudo, 32, found this out to her great relief on Wednesday, Jun 9, when she won the Tribunal’s nod to collect more than $9,000 plus $1,000 costs against her former employer who seemed to have vanished into thin air.

If the employer cannot still be located, Zerrudo was told she can collect the money awarded her from the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a government statutory body.

“Masaya ako na nakamit ko na ang hustisya matapos ang halos isang taon,” said Zerrudo. (I am happy to have won justice after almost a year).

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But getting there had not been easy. After Zerrudo walked out on her job in August last year because her employer, Y.H. Chung, had barred her from taking a day off, gave her little food, and along with her adult son, terrorized her for nearly seven months, she began the lengthy process of claiming all the money due her.

Led to believe by her employment agency that all she could hope to get was her outstanding wages plus payment for her return air ticket and unused holiday pay, Zerrudo signed off on a deal that said she was entitled to only $6,955.

But after consulting with the Mission for Migrant Workers she realized she should have been entitled to much more because her employer was considered to have fired her under the "constructive dismissal" principle by not letting her take a day off, thus violating the terms of their contract.

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What she was entitled to, said the Mission, was a month’s salary of $4,630 in lieu of notice, plus payment for all the days she was not allowed to go out on her days off and statutory holidays. The total amount that she should claim came up to $9,100.

Luckily, Zerrudo found another employer shortly after leaving Chung’s house, so she did not have to worry much about getting visa extensions from Immigration. With the Mission’s help, she was able to convince Immigration to allow her to process a new employment contract after sending them a letter detailing her ordeal in her previous job.

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At first, the task ahead did not seem difficult. With help from a friendly labour officer, Chung was easily convinced to offer a settlement of $6,000. Zerrudo agreed, and set out to collect the cheque from the Labour Department in Shatin.

But to her dismay, the receipt for the cheque indicated that she was accepting not just the money, but also an admission that Chung committed no wrong against her. Zerrudo backed out, saying she could not sign a document that forced her to admit a lie.

Chung, through the labour arbiter, hinted at raising the offered money to as much as $20,000 but still with the condition that Zerrudo would agree to a no-fault deal.

The helper stood her ground, and with no settlement being reached, the case was referred to the Tribunal for adjudication.

On the first day of hearing on Jan 27, Chung did not show up, and the court was told that the service of summons to her listed address had failed.

Zerrudo brightened up on hearing this, thinking that the officer would declare the employer in default, and award her claims outright. But to her dismay, the officer told her instead to put out an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation as a form of substituted service to Chung.

Dismayed and worried about incurring additional cost, Zerrudo appealed to the officer to revoke the order, saying she did not have the money and the time to comply with the undertaking. However, the officer stood pat.

Egged on by the Mission and her new employer, Zerrudo decided to fight on. With help from case officer Esther Bangcawayan she managed to haggle down the advertising cost to $1,000.

After paying the newspaper, she went back to the Tribunal to get the wording of the judicial notice that was to be published. Then she had to go back a second time to submit a copy of the newspaper where the advertisement was published.

She got a bit of relief when the original scheduled hearing date in September was moved forward to June.

Wednesday, Jun 9, Zerrudo was back in the tribunal, and after a quick check of the published advertisement that the Filipina had submitted to court earlier, presiding officer Eleanor Leung readily accepted her claim.

Thus ended Zerrudo’s 11-month ordeal.

“Salamat sa mga gumabay sa akin na hindi ako dapat pumayag sa alok nila na pera kapalit ng pagsisinungaling,” said Zerrudo. “Salamat sa mga tumulong sa akin na naging bahagi ng pagkapanalo ko.”

(Thank you to those who advised me not to accept the money my employer offered in exchange for telling a lie. Thank you to everyone who helped me and formed part of my victory).

Zerrudo (left), in an outing with a friend, 11 months after escaping a job with no days off

For Zerrudo, it was the end of a long struggle to fight for what was due her after she was forced to leave Chung’s house in Shatin on Aug 2 last year, nearly seven months after she arrived in Hong Kong to work for the employer, her adult son and his wife and two children.

Zerrudo said that during the entire time that she was in Chung’s house, she was not allowed to go out for a day-off, with the employer citing Covid-19 as the reason. And yet, she was made to accompany the elderly woman to the wet market regularly, and she was also asked to join the family on the rare occasions that they dined out.

If she needed to send money, she was accompanied by either Chung or other members of her family and guarded until she completed her transactions.

Food was also scarce, said Zerrudo, with their breakfast consisting only of noodles and their dinner, about two spoonfuls of rice with a little viand, mostly cheap meatballs, on the side. For lunch, they ate only biscuits or other light snacks.

After she complained to her agency, Chung allowed her to rest in her makeshift room for a few hours, but still forbid her from going out on her own.

The final straw came when Chung’s son, F.K. Au, threw a heavy printer in her direction early on Aug 2, 2020, causing it to break into pieces just inches away. The helper said Au had always been verbally abusive, but stopped short of causing her actual physical harm.

That time, she said she got scared, thinking it was only a matter of time before the man would actually hit her.

“When I told them I wanted to leave, both mother and son locked the door. Au then threatened to call in a lawyer and started a video recording, saying he would post it on social media so I couldn’t work in Hong Kong anymore,” said Zerrudo in a letter to Immigration.

She called in the police, who after talking to her, called her agency representative to help ease her departure from Chung’s house. But their negotiations over her wage claims stretched until 5pm that day, during which Zerrudo was not given any food.

Tired and hungry, she agreed to be paid only what was offered her through her agency.

Little did she know that she would spend the next 11 months trying to chase an employer who, probably scared of being held to account for more grievous offences, decided to simply disappear.

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