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Accidents and personal safety in Hong Kong
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Manhattan Hill private housing estate on Po Lun Street in Lai Chi Kok. Photo: Handout

Domestic helper falls to death while cleaning windows in Hong Kong

  • Woman, 38, found lying unconscious on seventh-floor podium in private housing estate in Cheung Sha Wan
  • Helper fell out of window from 18th-floor flat, source familiar with case says

A domestic helper in Hong Kong has fallen to her death while cleaning windows at a flat in Cheung Sha Wan.

Emergency personnel on Monday were called in when the Filipino woman, 38, was found lying unconscious on the seventh-floor podium of block six at Manhattan Hill private housing estate on Po Lun Street in Lai Chi Kok at 11.23am.

She was rushed to Caritas Medical Centre in Cheung Sha Wan, where she later died, according to police.

A source familiar with the case said the woman fell out of the window from an 18th-floor flat. It was unclear if the window was fitted with a safety grille.

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“An initial investigation suggests the helper lost her balance and accidentally fell off the building while cleaning windows in her own bedroom,” he said, adding a bottle of window-cleaning solvent was found in the bedroom.

He said the investigation found nothing suspicious and an autopsy would be carried out.

After being pressed by advocacy groups and the Philippine consulate, the government announced in November 2016 that all domestic helpers hired or renewing contracts from January 2017 could not be asked to clean the outside of any window above ground level unless the opening was fitted with a secured grille and no part of their body except for their arms were extended beyond the ledge.

The window ban was introduced after several helpers fell to their deaths.

Betty Yung Ma Shan-yee, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association, said the number of such accidents had dropped after the ban came into effect in 2017.

She said the legislation had prompted employers to install grilles and remind their helpers not to clean grille-free windows or to lean out beyond ledges.

However, she noted that accidents could still occur when helpers forgot the reminders and independently decided to clean windows while their employers were at work.

Yung said she was saddened by the helper’s death and hoped others would take good care of themselves.

A spokesman of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, Eman Villanueva, said they had observed a significant downtrend in domestic worker death related to window cleaning since the relevant rule was included in the standard employment contract.

However, it did not prevent employers from asking their domestic workers to perform such duties, he said.

“One problem we see is the lack of punitive provision in the implementation of the rule,” Villanueva said.

He said the government should treat violations of the rule as a criminal offence, and stipulate in the law the term of imprisonment and obligation for employers to pay victims in case accidents resulted in injuries or death.

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