Hong Kong police arrest 11 domestic helpers in connection with illegal abortion

Hong Kong police have arrested 11 domestic workers for allegedly selling illegal abortion pills or performing abortions unlawfully after one of the suspects was believed to have killed a fetus older than the legal limit of 24 weeks of pregnancy.

While police said on Friday that they believed the helpers were not operating as a crime syndicate, they warned that it was a criminal offence in Hong Kong to administer pharmaceutical drugs to perform abortions illegally.

The saga came to light on June 2 when Yuen Long police received a report that a 39-year-old domestic helper had collapsed at her employer’s home in Tin Shui Wai, northwestern New Territories.

“On arrival, ambulance personnel discovered a fetus in a laundry basket beside the helper’s bed. The fetus was about 35cm [13.8 inches] in length, with no sign of life,” said Inspector Lam Ho-yin of Yuen Long police district crime squad.

The fetus was subsequently certified dead, he said.

Lam added that a search of the woman’s room had uncovered a pregnancy test kit with a positive result and the packaging for suspected abortion pills.