Conflicting accounts have emerged of the story behind last week’s viral footage showing a local woman directing an abusive five-minute tirade at a domestic helper, whom she told to “go back to the Philippines.”
The footage, viewed more than 1.2 million times, caused a huge stir online after being uploaded last Thursday, with netizens slamming the woman for aggressively berating the helper for the behavior of two dachshunds in her care at Tseung Kwan O Waterfront.
Over the weekend, a friend of the woman, however, contacted Apple Daily to give what she claimed was the other side of the story.
The source, surnamed Leung, claimed one of the dogs had actually bitten the woman, an accusation that doesn’t appear to be mentioned during the video.
She provided photos showing the woman’s bloodied hand and pictures of it being bandaged at a hospital.
She also relayed a message from the woman saying the injury was “serious,” required surgery and could be infected, and that was what had caused her to lash out.
“At the time, I was not able to deal with the surprise attack in a calm manner,” the friend told Apple Daily, relaying the message from the woman, who called the helper “arrogant and irresponsible” and accused her of sitting idly by with the child she was caring for as the two sausage dogs fought with other dogs in the park.
“Imagine the consequences if other people or children encountered the same attack,” Leung said, again relating a message from her friend.
However, the woman who shot the footage, 37-year-old domestic helper Mel Santiago, denied this version of events.
Via message, Santiago told Coconuts HK that the woman responsible for the tirade was bitten by her own dog, the shiba inu, after it had gotten into a brawl with the two dachshunds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0WY8BeuEY0
She claimed the woman’s dog was known to be “not a nice dog,” and had once tried to fight a dog she had been walking, adding she “avoided” it.
Upset that the lady had taken her anger out on the helper — who Santiago identified as “MJ” — she said she filmed the exchange on her phone.
“I think that’s not my business, but you see I try to risk because I see who’s wrong,” she said.
Coconuts HK has tried to reach out to MJ, who is currently declining all media requests for comment.
According to a screengrab of a WhatsApp conversation posted on Santiago’s Facebook profile, she says: “I appreciated your concern and for taking the video… my privacy is important to me… I don’t [want] any publicity anymore… this [is] more stressful for me honestly.”
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