A 39-year-old Filipina domestic helper has been rescued from “constant abuse” by her female employer and is now staying in a charity-operated shelter in Hong Kong.
Florence, who hails from Cordillera region in the Philippines, filed a police complaint against her employer in Wan Chai, said executive director Edwina Antonio of the Bethune House.
“Biktima siya ng pananakit. Binuhusan siya ng mainit na tubig noong February 24. Noong January 17, pinaso siya ng mainit na stainless na container at hanggang ngayon may marka pa yung eight centimeter by five centimeter wound,” Antonio said as quoted by Hong Kong News.
Florence arrived in Hong Kong to work as household service worker in January 2015 and stayed with her employer until July of that year. She complained that her employer, said to be in her 30s, regularly pinched her ears and kicked her.
She has since worked for a second employer beginning December 2015.
“OK naman si Florence ngayon, pero siyempre hindi siya pwedeng magtrabaho habang iniimbestigahan ang kaso niya kaya ngayon nasa shelter siya,” Antonio said.
The woman’s passport was reportedly seized by her employment agency, AmahSearch Employment Agency, and was released when she paid the 10 per cent agency fee.