A domestic worker in Hong Kong has told the Philippine Consulate that an assault charge she faces is the result of a false complaint by her employer’s daughter.
Mary Ann Adlao was arrested and was detained in the Yuen Long Police Station in the New Territories for 30 hours for allegedly hitting her employer’s daughter Michelle Wong with a mobile phone, sunwebhk.com reported.
Adlao was freed on HK$600 (US$76) police bail and met with consulate officials on Tuesday.
She said the confrontation that led to her arrest escalated when Wong squeezed her arm. Adlao said she warned Wong that she would call the police, adding that she could not have hurt Wong because her employer and another daughter were in the same room at the time and could have easily prevented any violence.
She said the argument occurred after she was confronted by the family for leaving the home an hour earlier on her day off last Sunday.
Adlao also complained to the consulate that she and another domestic helper, also Filipino, were not given enough food.
She said her duties included taking care of an eight-month-old baby, cooking, washing two cars, feeding the family’s pet rabbit, and cleaning the entire house, which has four floors and has a total living area of 2,200 square feet (200 square meters). Another worker does the laundry and other chores.
She also said she had tendered her resignation nine days before the incident as she refused to join the family on a trip to Singapore after learning that she was booked on a separate flight. She said Wong got angry over this.
Adlao is due to report back to the police on June 11.