The case of a Filipino domestic worker who fell to her death in mainland China last month has been classified as “suspected human trafficking” by the Hong Kong government.
Lorain Asuncion, 28, fell to her death from a seventh-floor apartment in Shenzhen on July 24. According to her family, she had been “scared” and left alone with one of her employers’ relatives.
Asuncion was hired by a Hong Kong couple in October 2016, and had been taken to mainland China around four times between then and her death. Her aunt, Susan Escorial, told the SCMP that Asuncion was scared of going to China because she did not speak Mandarin and could not access social media to communicate with her family.
On her last visit, Escorial said Asuncion was “even more afraid because she would not be with her real employer”. She and the victim’s sister, Jenevieve Javier, are in Hong Kong to seek answers, but have been denied access to Asuncion’s employers, who have chosen to liaise with them through the Philippine consulate.
Javier called her sister’s death “very suspicious”. “We want to know what happened and have justice,” she told the SCMP.
The Immigration Department said it had referred the “suspected human trafficking case” to the police, who are currently investigating the matter.
Foreign domestic helpers are only contractually bound to work in their employer’s residence to perform domestic duties. Currently, it is illegal to hire foreign maids for personal services in mainland China. Employers are liable to a maximum fine of RMB100,000 (HKD117,350), and foreign workers can be subjected to 15 days in prison and a five-year entry ban.
Last year, a 23-year-old Filipino domestic helper surnamed Rosgen said she was tricked into working in mainland China for 10 days by her employer, who initially told her they would be going on a family holiday. Rosgen, who said at the time that she would terminate her contract, also accused an immigration officer of ignoring her written plea for help.
