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Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Hong Kong helpers allege sexual, physical abuse by employers during Covid-19 pandemic

  • Police confirm charges pressed against man accused of rape by Indonesian domestic worker, as migrant concern group pushes for protections
  • Current rules leave helpers vulnerable to assault, in fear of being sent home jobless, group says

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A concern group for migrant workers on Tuesday detailed four cases of alleged abuse involving Indonesian domestic helpers. Photo: AFP
Cannix Yau
The Hong Kong employer of a 29-year-old Indonesian domestic worker has been arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.
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Police confirmed the charges just hours after a concern group for migrant workers went public with the allegation at a Tuesday press conference highlighting abuse suffered by domestic workers at the hands of their employers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Other cases identified by the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body included a helper who was allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assaults and another who was allowed to sleep for just five hours a day and forbidden from leaving the house since February.

Sringatin, the concern group’s spokeswoman, said three of the four cases had been reported to police.

A woman using the pseudonym Putri joined the conference by video link and broke down in tears as she recalled her alleged rape at the home in Yuen Long where she worked for a husband and wife.

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In one case highlighted at Tuesday’s press conference, two women said they had been forbidden from going outside on their legally mandated day off since February. Photo: AFP
In one case highlighted at Tuesday’s press conference, two women said they had been forbidden from going outside on their legally mandated day off since February. Photo: AFP
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