SOS from window said to be mere ‘misunderstanding’

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Mary Jane's hand sticking out her employer's flat

In the end, it all boiled down to a “misunderstanding” and a “dispute.”

These were the words used by the police in describing an incident this afternoon which was sparked by a photo of a hand sticking out a window in some high-rise, holding a message written on a piece of paper appealing for help.

According to various people who posted and reposted the photo, the one holding the piece of paper was a Filipina domestic worker who lives in Festival City in Tai Wai. She had asked people to contact her sister whose name was written on the piece of paper so she could be rescued.

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As the photo quickly went viral, various stories and speculations were floated. The one that kept getting repeated was that the Filipina was being held against her will, that she was not given enough food, and that her employer had taken away her mobile phone so she could not get help.

At least two reports were made to the police. According to a police spokeswoman, the first call was made at 5:36 pm, but after officers went to investigate, the incident was classified as a mere “misunderstanding.”

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A second call was made at 7:09pm, during which several people also reported the incident to various officers of the Philippine Consulate, including Consul General Raly Tejada. This time, officers who went to check on the Filipina, Mary Jane, recorded the case as a “dispute.”

No one was arrested, and no one asked to be rescued, said the police spokeswoman.

Among those who quickly took action was Marites Palma, founder of Social Justice for Migrant Workers. She contacted Mary Jane’s sister, Maria Gracia, who told Palma that she had been contacted by her sister’s employer for the past year and a half, who assured her that everything was ok.

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Maria Gracia said the phone was passed on Mary Jane, but she could not understand what her distraught younger sister was saying. This sparked another flurry of speculations.

Palma then reached out to both Congen Tejada and officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

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In a message, Congen Tejada said, “the Consulate is currently trying to reach out to her as well as our contacts in HK Police.”

Eventually, Palma learned what had sparked it all. Mary Jane’s employer reportedly told OWWA’s welfare officer Virsie Tamayao that the helper had taken photos of the employer's personal documents so she could take out a loan. That was why her phone was confiscated last Wednesday.

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One could only speculate what had happened since – why Mary Jane was not even allowed to contact her sister or friends, and why the employer waited until all that drama had taken place to explain her side.

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Bagong paraan para maiwasang ma-scam

 

Ang Scameter na matatagpuan sa website na CyberDefender

Libo-libong mensahe ang ipinakakalat ng mga scammer upang mambitag ng biktima: may post sa Facebook na naglalako ng bago at madaling paraan para kumita ng pera, may text sa telepono na nagsasabing may problema sa iyong account sa bangko, may mensahe sa email na nagsasabing mapuputulan ka ng serbisyo at marami pang iba.

Karamihan sa nakatatanggap nito ay hindi pumapatol, pero marami ang nabibiktima --  gaya ng isang napabalitang taga-Hong Kong na nawalan kamakailan ng $16.6 million nang mabiktima siya ng isang cryptocurrency investment scam.

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Ayon sa report, naniwala siya sa isang pekeng eksperto na nagpayo sa kanya na maglagay ng pera sa isang investment scheme dahil malaki at sigurado daw ang kikitain. Nabaon siya sa utang sa kakasunod sa payong maglipat siya ng pera sa walong e-wallet account, hanggang mapagtanto niya na naloko siya at tumawag ng pulis.

Papaano ba makakaiwas sa mga ganitong scam?

May paraan ang HK Police: isang website https://cyberdefender.hk/en-us/.

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Ang CyberDefender ay inilunsad kamakailan ng Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau ng Hong Kong Police.

Ang layunin nito ay maimulat ang mga tao sa panganib na banta ng cybercrime sa lahat ng tao, at paano ito maiiwasan.  Ang pangunahing feature nito ay ang “Scameter”.

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Sa Scameter ay malalaman kung ang pinanggalingan ng mensaheng natatanggap mo – numero ng telepono, email address, web address at iba pa – ay mayroon nang record na nai-report na sa pulisya bilang scam, at kung gaano kapanganib ang pakikitungo sa kanila.

Kapag inilagay mo sa Scameter ang pangalan ng nag-aalok sa iyo ng pagkakakitaan o relasyon at nasa record na ito ng pulisya ay aandar ang metro at tatama sa isang kulay na magbabadya kung ito ay low risk (purple), low to medium (yellow), medium to high (orange) o high risk (red). Ikaw na ang didiskarte pagkatapos kung dapat ka nang umatras, o mag-isip munang maigi. 

Maliban dito ay marami ring mababasang mga artikulo ang website, na nagtuturo kung paano maiwasang ma-scam, at mga teknolohya na maaaring magbigay daan sa mga scam na ganito.

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Tinatalakay ang iba’t ibang uri ng scam gaya ng WhatsApp hijacking, romance scam, naked chat blackmail, compensated dating scam, online shopping fraud, business email compromise, credit card fraud at online investment fraud.

Sa isang press statement, nagpahayag ng suporta sa proyekto ang Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB), at mga kumpanyang may stored value facility (SVF) dahil makakatulong ito sa kanilang pagsisikap na mabawasan ang panloloko na gamit ng kanilang serbisyo.

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Ang datos na nakalap ng website at makakatulong din sa sector ng pinansiyal sa kanilang pagsugpo sa panloloko na gamit ang kanilang serbisyo, ayon sa HKMA.

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Health officials say outbreak of both Covid and flu likely this winter

By The SUN

 

POLO will give free flu jabs to qualified persons every Sunday and Tuesday starting on Oct 9

Health officials again issued calls on Friday for people to get vaccinated against the flu ahead of the onset of winter, saying people who come down with it and Covid-19 at the same time, could suffer severe symptoms.

The call came at a press conference, during which the Centre for Health Protection also reported 4,369 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, including 386 imported cases.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, in coordination with private clinic Shoebill Health Care, will start giving free flu vaccinations to people aged 50 and above this coming Sunday, Oct. 9, and all Sundays thereafter, until Nov 27.

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There will also be vaccination sessions on Tuesdays starting on Oct 11, and all the way to Nov. 29.

Booking is required. For additional information, check out the poster above or call POLO at 5529 1880.

Dr Thomas Tsang, honorary consultant at the Department of Health, said the time might be ripe for a flu outbreak this winter, as the Covid vaccinations and the mask-wearing in the past two years have kept the seasonal ailment at bay.

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“We want to get as many people as possible to have SIV (seasonal influenza vaccine). The reason is we have an outbreak it will be serious as we were not exposed to it in the past two years,” Tsang said.

He also said the vaccination figure for flu for the same period had been low, adding to the worry.

"We have never been hit by surges of both flu and Covid-19 at the same time, but it may happen this year. You can imagine it will bring significant pressure to our hospitals," he said.

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A serious flu outbreak in the past could cause between 300 and 400 deaths, he said, so one could only imagine how bad it could get if patients get infected with Covid-19 at the same time.

The same call was made by Chief Executive John Lee yesterday, as he and several of his top officials had SIV to emphasize its importance.

A government program to provide free flu shots to people aged 50 and above, children between six months and 12 years, pregnant women as well as the disabled, was launched at the same time.

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Tsang said people should not be wary about getting the flu vaccine as it has been proven safe for most people, including the elderly and children as young as six months.

Tsang says the flu jab is safe for most people

Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection backed Tsang’s warning of a more serious flu season this year.

"There's scientific evidence showing that if a person is co-infected with both Covid and influenza, there will be increased risk in death and hospitalization requiring ventilation support," he said.

At the same time, Au noted that the number of local infections and hospitalizations had reached a plateau in recent days, with no significant further drop in cases.

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He said this indicates that the immunity that most people received from vaccinations or previous infection is beginning to wane, which should put them on guard for a possible rebound in cases in the coming months.

Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said the drop in the caseload has allowed hospitals to resume 80% of their outpatient services, and more beds are now being allocated for non-Covid patients.

However, he said the hospitals are not relaxing their guard.

“Even if we get hit by both Covid-19 and seasonal flu we should be able to cope,” he said.

The doctors showed through graphs how Covid cases are on the upswing again in some places, particularly the United Kingdom and Singapore, where a new variant, BA.2.75, has caused the daily tally to double in recent days.

The CHP said it is closely monitoring the situation, but believes the current measures are enough to prevent the new variants from entering the community.

However, Au admitted that the number of imported cases has risen in the past month. From around 1.5 percent of the total infections in September, the imported cases now make up around 3 percent of the total.

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Kartika says she will use compensation ‘to heal myself’

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Kartika -flanked by Lestari and Tellez - tears up as she recalls her nightmare from 12 years ago

Her nightmare might have happened 12 years ago, but Kartika still tears up whenever she recalls the two years of abuse and terror inflicted on her by her former Hong Kong employers.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday after a half-day hearing of the $1.2 million civil claim she filed against her torturers, Kartika recalled how her family back in Indonesia had left her for dead after the couple stopped her from contacting them.

That began a two-year ordeal that still leaves her terrified, long after she had gone back home and her torturers, Catherine Au and her husband, Tai Chi-wai, were imprisoned for their horrible misdeed.

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Kartika, who has yet to receive any compensation despite an insurance company paying its $350,000 share in the civil claim, said she was “very tired” from having to wait for so long to secure justice.

But she was also happy to see the people who have helped her get to where she is now, particularly Cynthia Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, who had sought her out after she had gone back to Indonesia and convinced her to pursue a civil claim.

There is also her fellow Indonesian, migrant rights activist Eni Lestari, who has been communicating with her regularly, and remains outraged that the Labour Tribunal had dismissed Kartika’s claim for the two years she was not paid  wages  

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Asked what she planned to do with the money that she now seeks, Kartika immediately said “I will use it to heal myself.”

She said she needed money to get rid of some unsightly scars from the wounds inflicted on her by Au and Tai, and to get professional counseling.

But she also plans to use some of it to secure the future of her three children and set up a small business.

Migrant activists blame HK's 'discriminatory policies' for what happened to Kartika

In a statement that she read out at the start of the press conference, Kartika recalled how her former employers had thrown away her clothes, passport, work contract and HKID card three months into their employ, so she could not run away.

They then started beating her up regularly with practically all that their hands could lay on, from bicycle chain locks to clothes hangers and hot iron - and tied her to a chair in the kitchen at night, or whenever they would leave the house.

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Kartika also said she was fed only three times a week with leftover congee from the hospital where her contractual employer Au, worked. She was allowed to bathe only once or twice a week – and only in public toilets.

Once, Au told her to cut her hair, and when she refused, Kartika said the employer used a cutter to slash her in several parts of her body.

“Almost every day my employer also beat my head and back,” said Kartika.

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She said the couple had threatened to kill her if she ran away.

Worse, she was never paid any salary, and was not allowed to leave the house except when accompanied by either of the accused  

Sometime in 2011, the family of five left Hong Kong for a vacation in Thailand for seven days, and Kartika said the couple tied her to a chair dressed only in garbage bags and a diaper, with a mask to cover her face.

She also claimed she was not given any food or water during that time, although the District Court judge who found the accused couple guilty of a total of six counts of wounding and assault, had dismissed this as an exaggeration.

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In October 2012, Kartika managed to break free from being tied to a chair in the toilet, and left her employer’s Tai Po home to seek help. Some fellow Indonesian migrant workers she met on the street took her to the Indonesian Consulate General, which helped her seek police help.

After Au was sentenced to five and-a-half years in jail, and Tai, to three years and three months, Kartika, aided by the Indonesian Consulate, went to the Labour Tribunal with a claim totalling $117,272 for her unpaid wages, annual leave, and severance pay. 

However, the Tribunal rejected most of her claims and awarded her only about $5,000 in back wages. Kartika returned to Indonesia in 2014, virtually penniless.

Fortunately, she was introduced to Tellez before this, and the veteran migrants rights campaigner lost no time seeking out Kartika when she went to Central Java that same year to interview another abused Indonesian migrant worker, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih.

Lestari said that while they want the media and the public to support Kartika’s quest for justice, they also want it known that there are many other migrant workers like her who continue to suffer in silence. 

For as long as the Hong Kong government continues to turn a blind eye to the discriminatory policies that make migrant workers susceptible to abuse and exploitation, Lestari said the problems that led to the horrific fate of Kartika and Erwiana will not only remain, but fester.

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Indonesian disfigured by 2-year assault by employers testifies on $1.2M claim for damages

 By The SUN

Kartika (left) leaves District Court with Mission for Migrant Workers' Cynthia Tellez
and International Migrant Alliance head Eni Lestari

Kartika Puspitasari, the Indonesian domestic helper who suffered worse physical assault from her employers and earlier than the more renowned Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, appeared in District Court today, Thursday, to testify in a case where she is claiming $1.24 million in damages.

Twelve years after the attacks, the insurance company that covered her employment compensation has paid $350,000 for its share of the liability. But Kartika has not received a cent from the amount because it is deposited with the Legal Aid, which provided her lawyers, until the case is completed.

This left Kartika suing her former employers Tai Chi Wai and Catherine Au Yuk-shan for an additional $893,867 plus interest for the injuries she suffered in their two years of violence from October 2010 to October 2012 while she was working for them as a domestic helper.

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Tai and Chan, who had been jailed three years and three months and five and a half years, respectively, in a criminal trial that ended in 2013, did not appear in court to challenge Kartika's testimony which was prodded with questions from barrister Percy Yue.

After a half-day hearing in which she recounted the trauma and the psychological effects she still experiences, including showing her injuries to Master Catherine Cheng behind closed door, Kartika's case was adjourned for Dec. 15 for a decision on how much she should get in damages.

Watching her in the courtroom were members of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body-International Migrants Alliance (AMCB-IMA) Hong Kong and the Mission for Migrant Workers, who helped her bring the case to court.

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Before that, the groups also held a picket in front of the District Court building, calling for justice for Kartika, and the removal of all discriminatory policies against foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Hong Kong.

"AMCB believes that Kartika, Erwiana and many other other victims are not isolated cases. There are many FDWs who experience similar violation and abuse inside their employers' houses. However, the Hong Kong government continues to deny this reality and fails to protect the FDWs," AMCB said in a statement.

"Worst, despite the high-profile cases of abuses among FDWs and our significant contribution to the local economy, FDWs remain to be treated as slaves in the city. We are continuously subjected to various discriminatory policies such as mandatory live-in, restrictive visa policies like the two-week rule, exclusion from the statutory minimum wage, no regulation on working/resting hours as well as food and accommodation. We are even excluded from the government’s financial assistance and relief of Covid related schemes," it added.

Migrants who picketed outside court to show support for Kartika show their placards

In the itemized listing of Kartika’s claims, the biggest item was for PSLA (pain, suffering and loss of amenities), which amounted to $500,000.

“The plaintiff (Kartika) is now left with long term physical and psychological injuries that, unfortunately, would likely continue to have residual effect for the rest of her life as opined by psychiatric experts,” her revised statement of damages said.

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Kartika is claiming $180,000 for aggravated damages “for injury to feelings, dignity, mental suffering, humiliation and distress from the circumstances arising from the assault, beating, threats and being tied overnight.”

She is asking $382,045 for pre-trial loss of earnings because she had to remain jobless in Hong Kong from the start of the criminal trial on Oct. 9, 2012 to its conclusion the next year, and the settlement of her labour claim in 2014. This, plus being on sick leave until 2015, was a three-year period assessed at $180,781.

Since she also could no longer work as a domestic helper because of her injuries, she had to work in a job in Indonesia that paid $887 monthly -- a lot less than what she earned before she was injured in Hong Kong, a deficiency that added up to $201,264.

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Kartika also claims $5,322 for loss of earning capacity because her injuries caused disfigurements that reduced her job prospects by 5 per cent, and psychological effects that reduced her earning capacity by 15 per cent.

She is also claiming $22,000 for special damages so she could buy better medicines than the soothing jelly that she applies when her keloids itch and become painful.

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Kartika’s last claim is $104,500 for future medical expenses to pay for plastic surgery worth $22,000 to remove her keloids in a hospital in Indonesia, psychological/psychiatric treatment for three and a half years worth $77,500 and soothing jelly worth $5,000.

ADDITIONAL READING:
Abused Indonesian maid Kartika back in HK for civil claim vs employers: https://www.sunwebhk.com/2022/10/abused-indonesian-maid-kartika-back-in.html

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Public urged to get flu vaccination early

By The SUN

 

CE Lee (center) gets his flu shot, and calls on everyone to do the same before winter sets in

Senior government officials led by Chief Executive John Lee received seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) today, Thursday, to encourage the public to also get their shots early in preparation for the coming winter flu season.

CE Lee said receiving the flu vaccine this year is of particular importance compared with previous years because people are more likely to get the flu now that the immunity they acquired from having had Covid-19 vaccinations has waned.

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He said people who get sick of the flu and Covid-19 at the same time could face serious consequences.

"A person may suffer from serious illnesses after getting infected with influenza. Co-infection with influenza and Covid-19 may result in more serious complications and even death,” said Lee.

He said getting vaccinated early is particularly important for those in high-risk groups such as the elderly and young children.

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To emphasize the importance of this message, Hong Kong residents aged 50 or above can get both their Covid-19 shot and a free SIV at the same time when they visit any community vaccination centre.

They can also make prior reservations for receiving both vaccinations through the booking system of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection reported a total of 4,318 Covid-19 infections today, of which 325 were imported cases.

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Six Covid patients have died, while 1,669 others are receiving treatment in public hospitals.

Health Secretary, Prof Lo Chung-mau, said that the decision to provide Covid vaccine at the same time as the influenza shots is in line with the consensus reached among members of the Scientific Committee under the Department of Health.

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He said a number of venues, including designated facilities of the Hospital Authority and the DH, have started providing both vaccines at the same time.  

“As it takes about two weeks to develop antibodies afterwards, I strongly appeal to members of the public to receive vaccination early," he said.

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Under the government vaccination program, free or subsidized flu vaccines are given to eligible persons, including care homes for the elderly and persons with disabilities as well as those in child care centres, children aged 6 months to under 12, persons aged 50 or above, pregnant women, persons with intellectual disability and recipients of Disability Allowance.

For more information, members of the public may call the CHP at 2125 2125 or browse the dedicated webpage on Vaccination Schemes.

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