Raped, groped and assaulted: 5 FDWs talk of their pandemic ordeals

By Daisy CL Mandap

Photos of the abuse victims are displayed at the press conference

With her back turned to the camera, Putri, an Indonesian domestic worker told a news conference earlier today, Jun 29, of how she was repeatedly groped, then raped by her male Chinese employer. When she got pregnant, she said her female employer who knew about the assaults and rape, told her to get an abortion, but she refused.

Another Indonesian, Selly, spoke of how her male employer had repeatedly fondled her over the five months that she had worked in his household. She managed to flee only on June 25 with help from the Mission for Migrant Workers, after being allowed to take a rare day off.

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Herlina, also Indonesian, provided details of the repeated physical assaults she suffered at the hands of his male employer. Once, when she sustained a deep, open wound after a heavy aquarium that the employer told her to move fell on her foot, she was taken to a doctor only the next day. In the latest incident on June 24, her employer used a fishing rod to hit her on her hands and temple, before kicking her out to the front yard.

Backing up her story was Uun, who worked with Herlina in the employer's house in Tuen Mun, and fled with her at the same time. While not physically abused, Uun said she worked long hours, especially during the weekends when their employers hosted dinner parties at home. She and Herlina were not allowed to go out during their rest days.

3 of the abuse claimants (3rd, 5th and 6th from left) face the press

Rounding up the group of complainants was Eden, a Filipina worker who spoke, also online and with her back to the camera, about the torture she said she was subjected to by her female employer, a secondary school teacher who lives in Tsuen Wan. When Eden managed to escape on May 30, fellow workers were shocked to see the huge contusions on her thighs and stomach, and numerous scratches on her back and other parts of her body.

What the five workers had in common was that they were new in Hong Kong, and were mostly prohibited from going out for their weekly rest days, with their employers using the pandemic as the excuse. All lived in the New Territories, which made it doubly difficult for them to seek help from their respective consulates and support organizations that are based  mostly on Hong Kong island or Kowloon.

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The Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, which held the press conference jointly with the Mission for Migrant Workers, said the ordeal that the five women were forced to go through showed the Hong Kong government’s failure to protect the city’s 370,000 FDWs.

AMCB was particularly critical of the government’s repeated assurances that FDWs could be told to spend their rest day in the employer’s house, for as long as the worker agrees to this set-up.

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“We demand the Hong Kong government (to) take responsibility for their announcements and policies encouraging employers to keep their MDWs like prisoners inside the house,” said the AMCB in a statement read out by spokesperson Sringatin.

She said that because of this advice, workers like Eden and Ina were unable to seek safety or report the abuse they were experiencing.

Distressed workers and supporters show what need to be done to prevent abuse  

Johannie Tong, Mission’s case officer, said the surge in abuse cases amid the pandemic was alarming. She cited the Mission 2020 report which showed that sexual abuse cases tripled during the year, compared with 2019. Reports of physical abuse also rose by two percent year-on-year.

In addition, the survey reportedly showed that the overall working conditions of migrant workers have worsened during the pandemic, with around 98% being made to work long hours. Seven out of 10 worked for around 11 hours, while the rest worked for more than 16 hours. A few worked as long as 18 to 19 hours a day, Tong said.

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Both AMCB and the Mission called on the government to review its policies that they said allow the abuses to happen, particularly the live-in requirement and the 14-day rule for those whose contracts are prematurely terminated.

They also urged the Philippine and Indonesian consulates to provide financial support to their migrant workers in distress, as they are unable to send money home while pursuing their cases.

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Amount DH allegedly stole from boss’ bank account cut to $530k

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Garaza is now accused of stealing $530k from her employer by using the ATM card entrusted to her

Prosecutors have reduced to $530,000 the amount that a Filipina domestic helper has allegedly stolen from her French employer’s bank account over a 14-month period.  Originally, she was accused of stealing a total of $768,000.

This was disclosed at the hearing of the theft case against June Jennie B. Garaza, 33, who appeared in Eastern Court today, Jun 29.

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Magistrate Peter Law was slated to take a plea from Garaza, but at the request of the defense, adjourned the case until Jul 27, and ordered the defendant returned to custody.

Garaza has been detained since her arrest on Jan 22.

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She is accused of stealing cash from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp account of her male employer, Stephen Peepels, between Nov 26, 2019 and Jan 21 this year. She allegedly managed to do this since her employer allowed her to use his ATM card to withdraw money for household expenses.

The $238,000 reduction in the amount she was originally accused of skimming from Peepels’ account followed completion of the police scrutiny of more than 200 ATM withdrawals from the account during the 14-month period.

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Only a few details of the case have emerged since Garaza first appeared in court on Jan 25.

But during an interview on the popular Manila television show “Raffy Tulfo in Action, “ her husband, Kevin Luga, claimed the charge was baseless.

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Luga, who also used to work for Peepels, lived with Garaza in a separate rented flat.   

Luga said it all began when a nephew of Peepels who lives with the employer saw the $17,850 hotel bill that the helper and his son incurred for quarantine after they arrived from Manila on Jan 18.

Magistrate Law adjourned the hearing until Jul 27 and ordered Garaza remanded in custody.

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Heavy rains shut many offices, but not the Consulate & Immigration

By Vir B. Lumicao

Visibility was low amid the heavy downpour so many vehicles stayed off the roads

Torrential rains disrupted Hong Kong courts, schools and businesses this morning as the HK Observatory raised the black rainstorm warning, but it was business as usual at the Consulate and the Immigration Department.

The Observatory issued the highest alert level at 8:20am after heavy rains pelted Lantau, Lamma, western Hong Kong Island, East Kowloon and Saikung. Flooding and mudslides were reported as more than 200 millimeters of rain had fallen by noon.

Traffic was light most of the morning, with only a few vehicles on the road as office workers stayed at home in response to the first black rainstorm warning this year. But the MTR continued to run, with light rush-hour passenger volume.

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Edwina Antonio, executive director of Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, was in Eastern Court in Sai Wan Ho by 9:30am when she was told by staff at the courthouse that the scheduled hearings were suspended while the black warning was in force.

“I didn’t have breakfast because we were already running late. We took a taxi to get here on time but found out the courtrooms were closed,” Antonio said, while eating her sandwich.

She and an OFW were escorting a defendant in a case that was set for hearing this morning.

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The cases due to be heard at the magistracy included one involving a Filipina domestic helper who was accused of using her employer’s credit card to steal close to $800,000 and another female worker who was caught keeping a friend’s Hong Kong ID card.

By 11am, court staff announced that all sessions for the day had been cancelled and interested parties should return tomorrow.

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At the Consulate, staff said they remained open despite the black storm warning so a lean crowd of Filipino workers who were there for passport appointments and other purposes did not have to queue up before the transaction windows.

The heavy rains did not stop people queuing up for services at the Consulate

In the assistance to nationals section, only one female staff was in to handle phone calls as all her colleagues were at the Hong Kong airport to see off a group of stranded Filipino workers who were returning home on a special flight arranged by the Consulate.

 

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There were more workers with business to transact the PCG’s attached offices, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration on the 29^th floor of United Centre Building.

But the assistant labor attaches and the OWWA welfare officer’s offices were closed as they were also at the airport assisting the departing workers. One female staff said the offices opened at 8am to entertain workers who were there for transactions.

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A thin crowd of Filipino and Indonesian workers also gathered at the Foreign Domestic Helpers Section of the Immigration Department to process new contracts or apply for visa renewals and extensions.

Many FDHs were at Immigration because of urgent concerns

Many of the Filipinas who braved the bad weather said they didn’t have to wait long to complete their transactions. But at least two, Ellise and Rose, said they had been there since 8am and were among the first to submit visa extension forms. At 12 noon, they were still waiting to be called.

Both were anxious to get their visas extended as they had already overstayed by five months without even realizing it. They said they noticed only recently that the validity of the visa stamped on their passports was different from the expiration of their contracts.

News reports said anti-Covid vaccinations were suspended but resumed after lunch, while the city’s stock market resumed trading at 12:30pm.  

The nonstop rain triggered a landslide at 8am on Lantau Island that blocked two lanes of traffic, according to police.

Vehicles were shown on a video stuck as muddy water spilled from a hillside on South Lantau Road near Upper Cheung Sha Beach, making the highway impassable for a while.

The Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel Road on the Tuen Mun side was also obstructed by landslides, but had been fully cleared by past 11:30am.

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HK bans passenger flights from UK, retains it for Phl & 6 other places

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Passenger flights from the UK will again stop on Jul 1

Hong Kong has re-imposed a ban on all passenger flights from the United Kingdom, in line with existing boarding and quarantine regulations. The flight suspension will take effect from Jul 1, Thursday.

At the same time, a government statement issued today, Jun 28, said the current ban on other places designated as “extremely high risk” which includes the Philippines, will be retained.

“Considering that the epidemic situation is still unstable in existing extremely high-risk places, i.e. Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa, the existing restrictions on the aforementioned places under Cap. 599H will continue,” said the statement.

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The announcement came as three imported cases of Covid-19 were reported today, involving a foreign domestic helper from Indonesia and two returnees, one from the UK and another from Namibia. All three have the L452R strain of the Delta variant.

In the past week, a total of 12 arrivals from the UK were found to carry the Delta variant, either on arrival or during quarantine. Two were detected on Jun 21, four on Jun 24, two on Jun 25, one on Jun 26, two yesterday, and 1 today.

Under Hong Kong’s anti-Covid regulation, if five or more passengers from a certain country test positive for a coronavirus variant on arrival test at Hong Kong airport within a seven-day period,  that place is automatically designated as “extremely high  risk.”

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This classification is also triggered when at least 10 people arriving from a place are found to carry a variant, by any test (including during quarantine), within one week.

“As the number of the relevant imported cases has reached the threshold mentioned above, the government will on July 1 invoke the place-specific flight suspension for the UK, and specify the UK as a Group A1 specified place,” said the statement.

12 variant carriers from the UK were detected on arrival in HK in the past week

In addition, the decision to move the UK back to category A1 for “extremely high-risk places was said to have been prompted by the rebound of Covid-19 cases, as well as the widespread detection of the Delta variant in the country.

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The flight ban on the UK comes just four days after the country was reclassified as a Group A2 place, which allowed travelers from there to board a flight for Hong Kong, but must spend 21 days in hotel quarantine, whether or not they were vaccinated. They must also show a negative result for a swab test done no later than 72 hours before departure.

A flight ban is not new to the UK, though, as it was first stopped from flying passengers to Hong Kong in December last year amid record rises in the number of people getting infected with Covid-19.

This was gradually relaxed in April when residents were allowed to return via designated flights after a marked drop in Covid-19 cases in the country, as well as large-scale vaccinations

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On May 7 Hong Kong re-classified the country as a “very-high risk” place, which meant that travelers from there could fly in via regular flights, but should strictly observe a 21-day hotel quarantine and submit a negative test result for Covid-19 before boarding.

From Jun 4, the UK was further downgraded to “high risk” Group B category, which allowed travelers from there to quarantine for only 14 days and skip the Covid-19 test prior to boarding. Twenty days later, the country was moved back to the “very high risk” category, which required stricter boarding and quarantine requirements.

"The Government will continue to closely monitor the epidemic situation of various places, the prevalence of new virus variants, vaccination progress, and changes in the volume of cross-boundary passenger traffic, and will adjust the boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from relevant places as the situation warrants," the statement said. 

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

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Immigration again extends contracts, cancels home leaves for FDHs

By The SUN

 

FDH contracts expiring by Sept 30 may be extended for up to 3 months

Hong Kong Immigration has again allowed foreign domestic helpers and employers to extend their employment contracts for up to three months amid continuing travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic. 

At the same time, those whose visas are expiring and would under normal times be required to go back to their home country before taking up a new job or after renewing a contract, will be allowed to extend their stay until the expiry date of their current contracts.

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In a statement released today, Jun 28, the government said the extension of visas and work contracts are measures aimed at helping both workers and employers cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

All contracts expiring on or before Sept 30 this year may be extended for a maximum of three months, based on the mutual agreement of the worker and the employer. This means it cannot be extended if either party disagrees to the extension.

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However, as before, contracts which have already been extended under the previous flexibility arrangement announced in March, will no longer be extended again. In this situation, the employer should either apply for a contract renewal of their existing worker, or release her/him.

“It is an employer's duty to make advance preparations to arrange for their newly hired FDHs to come to Hong Kong within the three-month extended period of employment of their existing FDHs and/or arrange for contract renewal with their existing FDHs,” said the statement.

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As for extending the employment visas of FDHs who are due to return home for their “home leave” or end-of-contract vacation, Immigration says their visas may be extended up to the end of their current contract.

“If an FDH is unable to return to his/her place of origin within the aforementioned one-year period, he/she may, upon agreement with his/her employer, apply to the ImmD for a further extension of limit of stay until the end of his/her contract such that he/she may return to the place of origin within that period,” said the statement.

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The last time Immigration allowed this visa extension was on Dec 30, 2020.

But again, such an extension will be granted only if both the employer and the worker agree to such an arrangement.

“The government reminds employers and FDHs that the above flexibility arrangement must be mutually agreed between the employer and the FDH, and that the requirement that FDHs should return to their place of origin continues to be in place,” said the statement.

It added that the government will continue to close monitor the situation and review the two measures when necessary.

Indonesian DHs have been stopped from leaving for Hong Kong since Jun 25 

Currently, passengers from the Philippines or Indonesia, the two places where most of the FDHs come from, are not allowed to board a flight to Hong Kong, both having been specified as “extremely high-risk” countries for the coronavirus. Thus, even if workers are able to leave for their home countries, there is no assurance of when they could come back.

Because of the flight ban, newly hired domestic helpers from the two countries are also not able to assume the job waiting for them in Hong Kong. Philippines-based workers have been unable to leave since Apr 20, while the ban on passenger flights from Indonesia took effect on Friday last week.

Enquiries on employment rights and benefits may be directed to the dedicated Labour Department hotline, 2157 9537 (manned by 1823) or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk. The dedicated FDH Portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk) set up by the LD also provides information and useful links relating to the employment of FDHs.

For enquiries on FDH visa applications, contact Immigration by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by sending email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk.

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Female co-worker of Delta-infected man among 6 new cases

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Today's local case worked at Uptown Plaza, where the airport staff did parttime work

Six new coronavirus cases were reported in Hong Kong today, Jun 27, including a local woman who is a colleague of the male ground crew at the airport who tested positive for the Delta variant of the coronavirus on Jun 25.

The Centre for Health Protection said the local case, a 24-year-old woman, is a colleague of the 27-year-old ground crew of Hong Kong Airlines (case 11902) who worked parttime at Uptown Plaza in Tai Po.

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The CHP said the woman who last went to work on Jun 23 provided customer service at Uptown Plaza. She was moved to a quarantine centre the following day after her male colleague, identified as case 11902, tested preliminary positive.

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The CHP said the female patient developed fever yesterday, Jun 26 and was taken to hospital on the same day. Late today, the CHP confirmed she carried a mutant strain.

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She did not get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The government made a “restriction-testing declaration” on Block 10, Tai Po Centre, Tai Po, covering the tower where the patient resides, and an area nearby. The exercise began at 7:10pm today and will finish at about 7am tomorrow.

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People who were present at the venues where the patient visited at specified periods need to undergo compulsory testing on or before the specified date, the CHP said.

The five other new cases were a woman aged 22 who arrived from London on Jun 23, an Indonesian domestic helper aged 26 who arrived on Jun 18 from Surabaya, and a man aged 19 who flew in from London on Saturday.

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The CHP said two seamen aged 30 and 31 who arrived from Bangladesh on Jun 11 were close contacts of a 56-year-old  Bangladeshi seaman who was found dead on a cargo vessel anchored  on Hong Kong waters.

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Specimen samples taken from his corpse showed he carried the Delta variant. As a result, all 26 crewmembers of the ship were put under compulsory quarantine on board the vessel.

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All five imported cases were found carrying the L425R strain of the Delta mutation of the coronavirus, said the CHP. A staff said laboratory tests are going on to find out if they also carried the N501Y strain.

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Indonesian helper ‘tortured’ by employer, says migrant support group

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The Indonesian helper shows off her injured foot and hand (Mission photo)

An Indonesian domestic worker was hit repeatedly with a fishing rod by her male employer, leaving her with punctured hands. At another time, the same worker was left to cope with a large, open wound for two days, after a heavy aquarium she was made to carry fell on her foot.

These were just two of the alleged instances of abuse that the unnamed Indonesian worker was made to suffer, said the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body in a statement issued today, Jun 27.

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AMCB is due to hold a press conference this coming Tuesday, Jun 29, to give more details on the Indonesian domestic worker’s harrowing plight.                                                                                  

Before she was rescued on Jun 24, reportedly by a partner organization of the Mission for Migrant Workers, the Indonesian helper was “tortured to the point of disfigurement,” said the AMCB.

The aquarium incident reportedly happened when the male employer ordered the helper to carry a heavy aquarium all by herself, despite the presence of three fellow Indonesian workers in the same household. She dropped the aquarium, causing a huge open wound on her foot which was left untreated until two days later, when she was taken to a clinic to get stitches.

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In the earlier incident, the male employer reportedly got angry with the way the worker was fixing his fishing rod and decided to punish her. The employer told the helper to put out her hands, then repeatedly hit them with the fishing rod, causing the attached hook to puncture and leave holes on her skin.

Mission case officer Johannie Tong said the worker was one of four Indonesian domestic workers hired by a local family occupying a four-floor village house in the New Territories West. The family reportedly owned 65 dogs and kept several fishes in aquariums.

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Police were called after the male employer reportedly grabbed the worker by the hair and dragged her out to the front yard on the day of the rescue. “He was still yelling and kicking the victim, so her fellow worker called the police,” Tong said.

All four workers left the household after that, and are now being looked after in a shelter and a boarding house.

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Tong said all the workers complained of working long hours, like between 4am and 1am the next day, and not being allowed to take a day off. Each worker was assigned to a floor of the village house, and they were not supposed to interact with each other while at work. They had worked for the employers for between four months to two years.

Mission founder Cynthia Tellez with Erwiana, whose abuse by her employer made headlines all over the world

The latest case comes just two weeks after Filipina domestic worker named Eden fled her employer’s house in Tsuen Wan, claiming of repeated assaults by her female employer said to be a high school teacher.

Eden’s photos taken by her concerned fellow workers showed her with large contusions on her thighs and stomach, where she said she was hit by a metal food turner by her employer. She also bore long and deep scratch wounds on the back and front parts of her body, as well as pinch marks all over her trunk.

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The Mission says it is alarmed and appalled by the “marked increase” in the abuse committed against migrant workers during the pandemic, and has called yet again for a review of the live-in requirement for them, saying this is the main reason for the problem.

It cited a study published in its Service Report 2020, which showed a two-percentage point increase in physical abuse of migrants compared with the previous year. Sexual harassment or abuse surged even more, with the number tripling in 2020.

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“Hong Kong society should ensure that the workers here are always treated humanely,” said the Mission. “Both the Philippine and Indonesian governments should act swiftly to protect their workers against slave-like treatment and ensure that victims are provided redress and attain justice.

Tong said the Mission has not been told whether the Indonesian’s male employer and alleged abused has been arrested by the police.

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