https://www.scmp.com/rss/31606/feed Since the 1970s, foreign domestic workers have been permitted to stay in Hong Kong to address the city's shortage of local, full-time live-in helpers. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lam Ka-sing Lam Ka-sing Police have arrested a domestic helper on suspicion of child neglect following the death of a six-month-old baby in northern Hong Kong. The force said it received a report from the baby girl’s family at 11.39am on Friday that she had been found unconscious on a bed at home in the Fairview Park development in Yuen Long. Emergency personnel rushed the infant to Pok Oi Hospital in Yuen Long for treatment, police said. She was transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital, where she was later certified dead. A... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349003/domestic-helper-arrested-after-6-month-old-girl-dies-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349003/domestic-helper-arrested-after-6-month-old-girl-dies-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:24:46 +0000 William Yiu William Yiu Five people have been jailed in Hong Kong after an Immigration Department crackdown on illegal employment. The department said on Friday that it had raided 23 locations, including restaurants, cleaning companies and commercial buildings, during an operation carried out from Monday to Thursday. Officers arrested six men and 13 women, aged 22 to 62, found or suspected to be working illegally and six employers who allegedly hired them. Thirteen of those arrested held tourist visas – 11 from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3347280/5-jailed-20-more-arrested-hong-kong-crackdown-illegal-employment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3347280/5-jailed-20-more-arrested-hong-kong-crackdown-illegal-employment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 06:51:46 +0000 Lam Ka-sing Lam Ka-sing More than 400 foreign domestic helpers gathered at an international school campus in Hong Kong on Friday as 50 students paid tribute to their contributions as “second mothers” who help shape a multicultural environment at home. The organising student committee for the event at the English Schools Foundation’s Renaissance College in Ma On Shan said it hoped to inspire the wider community to cherish their domestic workers. The “Jie Jie Day” event, held annually by the school for 14 years, was also... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3346551/hong-kong-students-honour-over-400-foreign-domestic-helpers-second-mothers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3346551/hong-kong-students-honour-over-400-foreign-domestic-helpers-second-mothers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:39:11 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun Hong Kong authorities have arrested 20 people, including domestic helpers suspected of unlawfully providing services such as massages and manicures, in a crackdown on illegal labour. The Immigration Department said that it conducted a three-day operation across the city between Sunday and Tuesday, searching 19 target locations, including restaurants, care homes, hotels, commercial and industrial buildings and public places. Officers arrested 20 people, including 14 suspected illegal workers or... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3346116/11-domestic-helpers-among-20-arrested-hong-kong-crackdown-illegal-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3346116/11-domestic-helpers-among-20-arrested-hong-kong-crackdown-illegal-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:13:08 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A domestic helper has been jailed for 27 months for failing to secure her car on a slope in a Hong Kong nightlife district, killing a French woman and injuring seven others. Deputy District Judge Timothy Casewell found Reshielle Lagurin Magsino, 48, guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and serious bodily harm. The court heard that Magsino, who came to Hong Kong in 2009 and obtained a driving licence four years later, had worked for the same employer since her arrival and was allowed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345684/hong-kong-domestic-helper-jailed-27-months-over-fatal-runaway-car-accident?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345684/hong-kong-domestic-helper-jailed-27-months-over-fatal-runaway-car-accident?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:16:59 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun The Li Ka Shing Foundation and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort are arranging free visits to the theme park for 5,000 domestic helpers under an expanded programme this year. The charitable foundation, established by tycoon Li Ka-shing, said on Tuesday the number of helpers receiving the free visits would increase from 4,000 last year to 5,000. The initiative will also include more nationalities, extending beyond the Philippines to workers from Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3343037/hong-kongs-li-ka-shing-foundation-gifts-5000-disneyland-tickets-domestic-helpers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3343037/hong-kongs-li-ka-shing-foundation-gifts-5000-disneyland-tickets-domestic-helpers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:47:07 +0000 Oscar Liu,Danny Mok Oscar Liu,Danny Mok The death toll of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades has risen to 168 from 161 after the remains of more victims were identified, with the city’s security chief reporting seven weeks after the tragedy that the figure was “final”. Authorities on Thursday also released demographic information on the deceased in the Tai Po blaze. The inferno that swept through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate on November 26 last year claimed 58 male and 110 female victims, aged from six months to 98 years. Four... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3340034/death-toll-hong-kong-fire-rises-168-after-more-remains-identified?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3340034/death-toll-hong-kong-fire-rises-168-after-more-remains-identified?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:54:16 +0000 Sumnima Kandangwa Sumnima Kandangwa It’s midnight on an ordinary Thursday and Darren Lee is wide awake, hunched over a laptop, sending off emails. While most other university students might be winding down after a day of lectures or grabbing drinks with friends, Lee’s nightly routine has just begun. Sure, his grades are slipping, his mother is less than thrilled about all the socks taking over their living room, and his social life is bleak at best. But at only 19 years old, Lee is the proud founder and CEO of Sababu, a home-grown... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3338459/hong-kong-teen-trading-sleep-and-social-life-help-artists-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3338459/hong-kong-teen-trading-sleep-and-social-life-help-artists-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 23:00:13 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft Domestic helper Siti Zulaikho has only one word to describe her life after Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades turned everything upside down: “chaotic.” The 41-year-old Indonesian was among more than 200 domestic helpers living in Wang Fuk Court when the 43-hour blaze broke out on November 26, engulfing seven of the housing estate’s eight buildings and killing 161 people. Over the past month, she has relocated with her employers four times – first to a shelter, then to a hotel, and then to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3337941/i-cannot-sleep-soundly-helper-battles-trauma-job-insecurity-after-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3337941/i-cannot-sleep-soundly-helper-battles-trauma-job-insecurity-after-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 12:00:08 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez The Filipino domestic worker who fought for her life to escape from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades with her employer’s three-month-old baby is spending Christmas with her family back home after being treated for pneumonia. While 28-year-old Rhodora Alcaraz's time in intensive care is long behind her, she is still recovering from pneumonia and has been referred to a psychiatrist to help process her trauma. The helper was earlier lauded by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr as a hero... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3337619/helper-who-survived-hong-kong-fire-recovers-philippines-christmas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3337619/helper-who-survived-hong-kong-fire-recovers-philippines-christmas?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn Indonesian domestic worker Desi Widiana had spent half her life in Hong Kong, caring for other people’s families while her own waited thousands of kilometres away. Now, her relatives in Sambi village in East Java are waiting again – this time for her final homecoming. Widiana, 40, was among nine Indonesian domestic helpers killed in a massive fire that tore through Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26, leaving at least 160 people dead and thousands homeless. She had come... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3336899/hong-kong-fire-indonesian-helper-was-always-there-others-end?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3336899/hong-kong-fire-indonesian-helper-was-always-there-others-end?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 07:51:00 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr lauded domestic helper Rhodora Alcaraz as a hero for her role in saving her employer’s baby during Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. Romulo Victor M Israel Jnr, the country’s top diplomat in Hong Kong, also told the Post that Alcaraz, a survivor of last month’s inferno at Wang Fuk Court, was facing a long physical recovery. The helper met President Marcos, together with his wife, Maria Louise Araneta-Marcos, when she arrived at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336678/philippines-marcos-lauds-helper-returning-home-after-deadly-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336678/philippines-marcos-lauds-helper-returning-home-after-deadly-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:21:05 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez Filipino domestic helpers who survived Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades say they have no intention of leaving the city, even though they were traumatised by the tragedy. Some of the 35 survivors attending a full-day fair at St John’s Cathedral in Central on Sunday told the Post about their ordeals after losing all their personal belongings in the inferno last month. Some continued to work for their employers and had moved with them into transitional housing, but at least one had been laid... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336403/we-want-stay-hong-kong-say-filipino-helpers-who-survived-deadly-blaze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336403/we-want-stay-hong-kong-say-filipino-helpers-who-survived-deadly-blaze?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 13:35:29 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez A domestic helper who died in Hong Kong’s devastating Tai Po fire last month had planned to return home permanently to the Philippines to be with her 10-year-old son and was due to leave on Saturday, the Post has learned. Maryan Pascual Esteban, 39, died with her ward, five-year-old Hannah, in the inferno at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate, which killed at least 160 people and displaced more than 4,000 residents. Ten domestic workers – Esteban and nine Indonesians – were among the fatalities... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336349/filipino-helper-killed-hong-kong-fire-was-going-home-good-be-son?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336349/filipino-helper-killed-hong-kong-fire-was-going-home-good-be-son?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 14:34:36 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez The remains of nine Indonesian nationals who died in last month’s devastating fire in Hong Kong could soon be returned to their home country, as all burial orders have now been issued, according to city authorities. The Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong told the Post on Thursday morning that a visit by a delegation from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had led to the “swift handling” of the remains of the nine nationals. The country’s nationals accounted for the largest number of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336023/repatriation-efforts-progressing-9-indonesians-killed-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336023/repatriation-efforts-progressing-9-indonesians-killed-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:44:10 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn When Indonesian farmer Sutiono, 43, saw news footage of the towering inferno at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong on November 26, he immediately called his wife, Siti Khotimah, 40, knowing she worked at the estate. He had spoken to her just hours earlier on that fateful day. She seemed upbeat and was looking forward to returning home for the first time in seven years. Their daughter’s 11th birthday was only a day away. Khotimah had come to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper and raise money for her... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3335871/indonesian-mum-who-died-hong-kong-blaze-sacrificed-everything-childrens-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3335871/indonesian-mum-who-died-hong-kong-blaze-sacrificed-everything-childrens-education?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 06:53:29 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez An Indonesian foreign ministry delegation in Hong Kong is hoping to expedite the repatriation of the bodies of nine helpers who died in the devastating Tai Po fire two weeks ago, with the country’s consulate also praising its nationals’ resilience in the face of tragedy. The Indonesian team joined the Philippines’ top diplomat in Hong Kong and three other consulate officials in a meeting on Monday with various city authorities, including police and the labour, home affairs, health and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335745/philippines-hong-kong-will-return-body-fire-victim-consul-says-amid-growing-anger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335745/philippines-hong-kong-will-return-body-fire-victim-consul-says-amid-growing-anger?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:39:28 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez An Indonesian domestic helper has recalled how she and her employer’s elderly parents huddled together in a smoke-filled bedroom for an agonising three hours, covering their noses with wet towels as they lay trapped while a deadly inferno engulfed a Hong Kong estate last month. The helper, who gave her name as Olive, recalled to the Post the ordeal the trio went through on November 26, as the devastating fire swept through seven of the eight residential high-rise blocks at Wang Fuk Court in Tai... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335516/indonesian-helpers-terrifying-3-hour-ordeal-fire-ravaged-hong-kong-estate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335516/indonesian-helpers-terrifying-3-hour-ordeal-fire-ravaged-hong-kong-estate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 12:01:48 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words In times of crisis, such as the Omicron outbreak of 2022 and the Erwiana Sulistyaningsih abuse case of 2013-2014, the usual anaesthetised indifference towards migrant domestic worker rights and issues in Hong Kong is replaced, in part, by a wave of support. One recent comment... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3335159/it-shouldnt-take-tragedy-hong-kong-treat-domestic-workers-fairly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3335159/it-shouldnt-take-tragedy-hong-kong-treat-domestic-workers-fairly?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 03:30:09 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336099/hong-kongs-domestic-helpers-mourn-deaths-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3336099/hong-kongs-domestic-helpers-mourn-deaths-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000 Salomé Grouard,Kristie Ko Salomé Grouard,Kristie Ko Photography by Alexander Mak and Jocelyn Tam For Johannie Tong Hiu-yan, a social worker with the Mission for Migrant Workers, the needs of the community come first. But after some gentle probing, she finally answers the question of how she is doing. “I feel tired,” she concedes. “It’s inevitable. There’s so much to do, and it’s a traumatic event for the whole community.” Hong Kong endured its most devastating fire in decades, when a blaze, which started on Wednesday, November 26, tore through... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3335340/how-hong-kong-came-together-after-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3335340/how-hong-kong-came-together-after-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 09:21:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The integral role of domestic helpers in Hong Kong society has been cast in sharp focus by the heroism and sacrifice displayed by foreign workers caught up in the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Their contributions should be honoured by ensuring they receive the same care and attention as other victims of the tragedy. More than 200 foreign workers were employed and living with families in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court before the housing complex became an inferno on November 26. Of the at least 159... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3335037/domestic-helpers-deserve-praise-heroism-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3335037/domestic-helpers-deserve-praise-heroism-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:45:08 +0000 Mary Ann Benitez Mary Ann Benitez Filipino domestic helper Rhodora Alcaraz arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday last week and went straight to work at her employer’s flat in Tai Po, finding herself battling flames a day later to make a miraculous escape with a three-month-old baby in her arms. The 27-year-old is now in an intensive care unit, unable to speak above a whisper, after suffering injuries, including to her throat, which made her feel like she had “poison pouring down her throat”. Last week, she arrived from her Central... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335081/filipino-helper-her-second-day-work-when-tai-po-fire-hit-escapes-baby?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335081/filipino-helper-her-second-day-work-when-tai-po-fire-hit-escapes-baby?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 11:00:31 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying Lo Hoi-ying Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has ordered the setting up of a judge-led independent review committee on the blaze that engulfed a Tai Po residential estate while formally announcing that the Legislative Council election will go ahead on Sunday as scheduled. The death toll from the inferno that swept through seven of the eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court last Wednesday rose to 156 after five more bodies were found on Tuesday. Of the total, 127 victims have been identified, while about... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334962/judge-led-panel-probe-deadly-blaze-hong-kong-goes-ahead-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334962/judge-led-panel-probe-deadly-blaze-hong-kong-goes-ahead-election?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:13:26 +0000 Matthew Cheng Matthew Cheng A deadly Hong Kong blaze that claimed the lives of several domestic helpers will not deter Filipinos from working in the city, the Philippines’ migrant workers minister has said, adding that the city has always been a “safe haven”. Speaking to the Post during a visit to Hong Kong on Tuesday, Hans Leo Cacdac, secretary for the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers, said his government would provide financial assistance to affected helpers and support for their children. He also touched on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334958/hong-kong-fire-will-not-deter-filipino-helpers-working-city-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334958/hong-kong-fire-will-not-deter-filipino-helpers-working-city-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:37:48 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn Suyitno first saw the news of a deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on social media last Wednesday afternoon. Yet, despite the harrowing footage of the estate engulfed in billowing smoke and leaping flames, Suyitno, who lives in the Indonesian city of Malang in East Java and whose wife was working in Hong Kong as a domestic helper, was not immediately concerned. He did not recognise the location as the workplace of his 39-year-old wife Erawati, who had been living on and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3334868/indonesian-helpers-last-call-husband-tai-po-fire-she-asked-me-forgive-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3334868/indonesian-helpers-last-call-husband-tai-po-fire-she-asked-me-forgive-her?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:55:45 +0000 Matthew Cheng Matthew Cheng A workers’ rights organisation and other concern groups in Hong Kong have warned the public to be vigilant against fraudulent appeals for donations by those exploiting the deaths of domestic helpers in the Tai Po fire. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Network, Beranda Migran and the Coordination of Returned Indonesian Migrants urged the public to refrain from donating directly to the families of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334863/groups-warn-against-donation-drives-exploiting-helpers-who-died-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334863/groups-warn-against-donation-drives-exploiting-helpers-who-died-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:14:20 +0000 Emily Hung Emily Hung Students, workers and domestic helpers affected by the deadly Hong Kong blaze that claimed 151 lives will each receive a payout of HK$20,000 (US$2,570) as part of government relief efforts. And donations to the government’s relief fund have reached HK$1.6 billion, reflecting strong public support for the victims. The authorities on Monday also announced grants ranging from HK$50,000 to HK$100,000 for the dozens of people injured in the fire. Aid continued to pour in from the authorities and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334812/students-workers-and-domestic-helpers-hit-hong-kong-fire-get-hk20000-payout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334812/students-workers-and-domestic-helpers-hit-hong-kong-fire-get-hk20000-payout?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 15:56:22 +0000 Wynna Wong,Leopold Chen Wynna Wong,Leopold Chen The death toll among Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades has increased to nine after two more were confirmed dead, with 36 others remaining unaccounted for, according to the country’s consulate. The announcement came as the government revealed on Monday that more than 1,700 households affected by the Wang Fuk Court inferno had received an emergency cash handout of HK$10,000 (US$1,284), while the city worked to ease mortgage burdens on impacted homeowners. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334708/1760-households-get-hk10000-cash-handout-after-deadly-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334708/1760-households-get-hk10000-cash-handout-after-deadly-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 02:54:41 +0000 Ada Li Ada Li A Filipino domestic worker who fled Hong Kong’s deadly inferno with her employers’ three-year-old daughter in her arms has expressed regret that she was unable to persuade a neighbour who perished in the blaze to also try to escape. Reinalyn Niere, who arrived in the city last year, said she was asleep with the child in the family’s third-floor flat in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court when disaster struck at the housing estate on Wednesday afternoon. The child’s parents were at work at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334691/filipino-helper-who-fled-hong-kong-fire-girl-3-anguished-over-dead-neighbour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334691/filipino-helper-who-fled-hong-kong-fire-girl-3-anguished-over-dead-neighbour?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:00:44 +0000 Matthew Cheng,Ambrose Li Matthew Cheng,Ambrose Li As Hong Kong reels from its deadliest fire in decades, a highly visible community of foreigners is also in mourning as it awaits for news of the fate of nearly 80 of its own who remain missing. They are the domestic helpers who remain unaccounted for five days after the blaze, among more than 200 working in Wang Fuk Court, the site of the inferno that has claimed at least 128 lives. Seven Indonesians and a Filipino were confirmed dead, while three others were injured, according to the consulates... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334629/portraits-courage-helpers-who-stayed-their-wards-during-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334629/portraits-courage-helpers-who-stayed-their-wards-during-hong-kong-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 12:59:43 +0000 Willa Wu Willa Wu Hong Kong authorities have ramped up efforts to drive voter turnout for the coming Legislative Council election, releasing a video featuring a bomb disposal chief urging members of ethnic minority groups to cast their ballots. Raymond Suryanto Chin-chiu, head of the explosive ordnance disposal bureau, made the appeal in Indonesian in the video released on Sunday via Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan’s social media account. “Dear Indonesian friends in Hong Kong, if you are a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3333839/bomb-disposal-chief-urges-indonesian-residents-vote-hong-kong-legco-poll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3333839/bomb-disposal-chief-urges-indonesian-residents-vote-hong-kong-legco-poll?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 08:01:35 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong are set to get a larger shelter from their consulate, with some groups hoping their years-long demand for a new facility will result in more “flexible” arrangements to better suit the needs of distressed migrant workers. Unions and organisations said the current shelter operated by the Philippine consulate was insufficient to deal with the demand, pointing to similar lodgings offered by NGOs that were also frequently full and struggling to stay... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3333825/philippines-pledges-bigger-consulate-run-shelter-helpers-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3333825/philippines-pledges-bigger-consulate-run-shelter-helpers-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 04:00:18 +0000 Salomé Grouard Salomé Grouard For Maria Nemy Lou Rocio, a Filipino domestic helper who has been journaling since the age of six, writing has always been her refuge. “From best to worst, writing truly carried me through life,” she says. “It helped me process being abused by my adoptive family, excitedly document my first crushes, face suicidal despair when I wrote my ‘last letter’ …” In 2017, when she moved to Hong Kong, a city that often reduces Rocio and her peers to their jobs as domestic helpers, she decided to channel... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3332817/how-hong-kongs-zine-making-movement-helping-people-heal-and-be-heard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3332817/how-hong-kongs-zine-making-movement-helping-people-heal-and-be-heard?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 02:00:16 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun A year after arriving in Hong Kong in 2017, Filipino domestic helper Maria Nemy Lou Rocio took out a HK$25,000 (US$3,200) loan from a local bank to settle her family’s debts and provide for her three children at home. The 44-year-old had learned from other domestic workers about how to apply for the loan but said it took more than a year to repay it. With a monthly salary of less than HK$5,000, she was left with little for herself and had to borrow from friends to cover her daily expenses in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3332902/more-financial-literacy-needed-among-helpers-hong-kong-avoid-unethical-loans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3332902/more-financial-literacy-needed-among-helpers-hong-kong-avoid-unethical-loans?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 04:00:20 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/series/3332578/lives-hong-kongs-foreign-helpers-and-challenges-they-face?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/series/3332578/lives-hong-kongs-foreign-helpers-and-challenges-they-face?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 03:29:37 +0000 Danny Mok Danny Mok A domestic helper in Hong Kong has been arrested for allegedly stealing about HK$520,000 (US$66,700) in cash from her employer at a luxury flat in Happy Valley. Police said on Wednesday that the employer, a 59-year-old woman living at The Leighton Hill on Broadwood Road, discovered the money, comprising cash of HK$500,000 and 17,000 yuan (US$2,190), missing and suspected her helper had taken it. The employer, a mainland Chinese woman, reported the case at around 9.30am. Officers arrived at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3332511/helper-arrested-hong-kong-allegedly-stealing-hk520000-employer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3332511/helper-arrested-hong-kong-allegedly-stealing-hk520000-employer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 11:14:30 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma Hong Kong immigration officers have arrested 21 people in a crackdown on illegal workers in the city, including two domestic helpers found to be employed as mountain biking coaches without relevant credentials. Lo Tin-yau, senior officer with the Immigration Department’s foreign domestic helpers special investigation section, said on Tuesday that authorities arrested 14 suspected illegal workers and seven alleged local employers over the past week. “Illegal workers will have to face criminal... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3332349/hong-kong-immigration-authorities-arrest-21-crackdown-illegal-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3332349/hong-kong-immigration-authorities-arrest-21-crackdown-illegal-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 09:49:51 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun At five months pregnant, domestic helper Daisy* was kicked out of her Hong Kong employer’s home one night without warning. Distraught and alone, the 32-year-old called home in Mindanao, the Philippines, crying over what had happened to her. “It was in the middle of the night. I felt so scared as I was pregnant and I had no family or friends here I could turn to,” Daisy recalled. She had arrived in Hong Kong in 2023 to work for a local couple who had a seven-year-old son but fell pregnant last... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3331689/no-place-call-home-plight-hong-kongs-pregnant-helpers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3331689/no-place-call-home-plight-hong-kongs-pregnant-helpers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:30:27 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma Hong Kong police and various consulates in the city have stepped up efforts to educate migrant workers about money laundering and scam risks, following an uptick in cases among certain ethnic minority groups. Chief Inspector Kamy Lee Ka-wai of the force’s financial intelligence and investigation bureau said police had ramped up collaboration with consulates and religious organisations to engage with ethnic minority residents and workers since last year. She said the main reason members of ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3329564/hong-kong-steps-awareness-money-laundering-scam-risks-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3329564/hong-kong-steps-awareness-money-laundering-scam-risks-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:00:09 +0000 Jess Ma,Connor Mycroft,Harvey Kong Jess Ma,Connor Mycroft,Harvey Kong Two Filipino domestic helpers who were found by Hong Kong police after going missing for two weeks have been fired and face being sent back to their country, Philippine authorities have said. While the search for Aleli Perez Tibay, 33, and Imee Mahilum Pabuaya, 24, was over, questions about their disappearance remained as they had refused to tell police where they were for the past two weeks, sources told the Post on Friday. Some members of the public have questioned whether the pair should be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3329290/two-missing-filipina-domestic-helpers-hong-kong-found-after-12-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3329290/two-missing-filipina-domestic-helpers-hong-kong-found-after-12-days?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 14:52:38 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words Two suspected domestic worker suicide cases were reported in recent weeks, taking the total number to at least three this year. Behind these tragedies lies a silent crisis: many domestic workers endure chronic mental distress with little access to support. Each loss leaves the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3329057/its-business-hong-kong-support-domestic-helpers-well-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3329057/its-business-hong-kong-support-domestic-helpers-well-being?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:30:10 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Hong Kong immigration officers have arrested 16 people, most of whom are foreign domestic helpers suspected of engaging in other jobs during their free time or while overstaying. Senior Immigration Officer Fu Chit-ho said on Tuesday that the 16 people comprised 10 suspected illegal workers and six alleged employers arrested over a three-day period since Sunday in a citywide “Swordfish Operation” targeting foreign domestic helpers breaching their conditions of stay. Fu said the suspected illegal... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3328987/16-arrested-hong-kong-crackdown-domestic-helpers-breaching-work-terms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3328987/16-arrested-hong-kong-crackdown-domestic-helpers-breaching-work-terms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:04:17 +0000 Connor Mycroft,Jess Ma Connor Mycroft,Jess Ma Hong Kong authorities are reviewing their strategy for finding two missing Filipino domestic helpers after calling off a search along the hiking trail where the women were seen about 10 days ago, the Post has learned. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ local consulate has contacted city authorities on the matter, with police revealing on Tuesday that the helpers had been spotted in Lei Muk Shue Estate in Tsuen Wan on October 8, four days after being seen on the trail. Two sources said the Fire Services... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3328915/hong-kong-authorities-reviewing-strategy-search-2-missing-filipino-helpers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3328915/hong-kong-authorities-reviewing-strategy-search-2-missing-filipino-helpers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 05:41:34 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma The Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong is working with authorities to help the family of a domestic helper who died in a car crash alongside her boss on Monday. A spokeswoman for the consulate told the Post on Tuesday that it has already established contact with the deceased domestic helper’s family. “We are also working in close coordination with relevant Hong Kong authorities to provide appropriate follow-up measures, including provision of necessary assistance, in accordance with prevailing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3328101/domestic-helper-and-her-employer-killed-crash-hong-kongs-tai-po?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3328101/domestic-helper-and-her-employer-killed-crash-hong-kongs-tai-po?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 06:19:36 +0000 Harvey Kong Harvey Kong A man allegedly attacked a domestic helper with a box cutter at a public housing estate in Tsing Yi before falling to his death from the building, Hong Kong police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday night at Leung Fat House in the Cheung Fat Estate. A resident contacted police at 9.40pm and told them that the helper had allegedly been attacked by a 31-year-old man, after which she had returned to her flat. After officers arrived at the scene, the 47-year-old woman was taken to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3328090/man-plunges-death-after-alleged-knife-attack-domestic-helper-hong-kong-flat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3328090/man-plunges-death-after-alleged-knife-attack-domestic-helper-hong-kong-flat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 04:51:03 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Occupational pay rises spark debate about whether they are fair to either employees or their bosses. The domestic helper market is no exception. Helper advocates have expressed disappointment with the latest pay rise of 2.2 per cent in monthly minimum salary to HK$5,100 (US$655), against their calls for rises of up to 30 per cent to HK$6,500. There was also disappointment with the freezing of the food allowance at HK$1,236 for the second consecutive year. A local employers’ group, however, had... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3327485/domestic-helper-pay-rates-show-balance-emerging-hong-kong-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3327485/domestic-helper-pay-rates-show-balance-emerging-hong-kong-market?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 23:15:13 +0000 Harvey Kong Harvey Kong The average monthly salary offered to domestic helpers in Hong Kong has increased by 7.9 per cent to HK$5,722 (US$735) compared with the previous year, according to a survey by a local recruitment platform. HelperChoice, which released the survey findings on Monday, said that the upwards trend in wages reflected a growing willingness among employers to offer competitive salaries to hire experienced helpers, particularly those already based in Hong Kong. “In 2025, we’re seeing a noticeable shift... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3327353/domestic-helpers-average-monthly-pay-rises-79-hk5722-2025-hong-kong-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3327353/domestic-helpers-average-monthly-pay-rises-79-hk5722-2025-hong-kong-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 06:24:31 +0000 Willa Wu,Danny Mok Willa Wu,Danny Mok Domestic helpers in Hong Kong will have their monthly minimum salary increased by 2.2 per cent to HK$5,100 (US$655) for employment contracts signed on or after Tuesday, the government has announced. But the monthly food allowance would remain unchanged at no less than HK$1,236 if their employers chose not to provide free food, it added on Monday. A local employers’ group had earlier called for a freeze on the minimum salaries of domestic helpers amid the economic slowdown, even as some unions... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3327248/hong-kong-ups-monthly-minimum-wage-foreign-domestic-helpers-22-hk5100?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3327248/hong-kong-ups-monthly-minimum-wage-foreign-domestic-helpers-22-hk5100?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 09:37:48 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft A charity has called for an exemption to the live-in rule for domestic helpers who give birth in Hong Kong, saying newborns can be separated from their mothers because of the requirement. A report released on Monday by the charity Pathfinders also called for the implementation of training and guidelines for employers to prevent maternity-related issues. The group supports migrant mothers and their children and handles about 16 pregnant clients a month. “The reality is, if a pregnancy happens,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3323956/hong-kong-charity-urges-live-exemption-domestic-helpers-who-give-birth-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3323956/hong-kong-charity-urges-live-exemption-domestic-helpers-who-give-birth-city?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 13:10:12 +0000