2 Pinays domestic helpers who arrived in Hong Kong two months ago accused their male employer of indecent assault and theft shortly after they were rescued in Shatin by Consulate officials on June 8.
According to The Sun News paper reports Pinays told Consulate officials that they were not fed, not paid their salaries until the day they were rescued, and were made to do dangerous jobs.
Their male employer, a Singaporean surnamed Ong, was arrested by police and charged with indecent assault. Officers laid an additional charge of theft against him for confiscating the passports of the two Filipinas. He was released on police bail.
2 Pinays were rescued at about 11am at their employers’ home at Villa Jardine in Fotan, after Labor Attaché Jalilo de la Torre and Hermogenes Cayabyab Jr, officer of the assistance to nationals section, sought police help.
Image that Posted online (c) The Sun
De la Torre and Cayabyab, rushed to the Shatin Police station and coordinated the rescue with the officers after receiving a tip-off from a migrant workers’ group.
The support group had posted a picture on Facebook of the two maids perched precariously on a ledge while cleaning window panes.
The alleged victims said the Singaporean boss and his wife, an Indonesian Chinese, were surprised when police came to their house as the female employer was about to leave for work.
An Indonesian co-worker of the Filipinas refused to be rescued, the labor attaché said.
Rescued were a 32-year-old mother of two, and a 23-year-old single woman. They said the employers held their passports upon arriving in Hong Kong on Apr 28.
On the next night, Ong reportedly ordered the older helper to massage him and asked him to hold his genitals, offering her $80. But she said she refused vehemently and left the room.
The next day, after his wife had left, Ong allegedly asked the younger helper to massage him in his bedroom. He told her to bring him a cup of lemon tea, and when she came into the room, he allegedly grabbed the maid’s hands and put them on his genitals.
She reportedly ran out of the room in tears when the employer started to masturbate.
Apart from the sexual assault, the employers were also accused of ill-treating the Filipinas.
“They arrived from Manila on April 28. They complained that they were not given food and were treated like slaves,” De la Torre said. “They were also not paid their salaries.”
The two helpers said they were warned not to touch any of the refrigerator’s contents, and managed to survive with the help of the Indonesian maid and other helpers in the neighborhood who gave them food after hearing about their plight.
The male employer’s name appears on the contract, but the signature belonged to his wife, De la Torre said.
“The rescued Filipinas said the couple was in the middle of divorce proceedings, so they always vented their anger on the maids,” De la Torre said.
The group that helped rescue them, called OFWs in Hong Kong, thanked the labor attache for the quick response.
Via The Sun
