HK judge rules in favour of abused domestic maid
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HONG KONG • A Hong Kong judge has ruled that the police "prematurely curtailed" their investigation of a Philippine domestic worker being exploited by her employer, a biting assessment of the city's failure to protect victims of human trafficking.
Friday's landmark ruling marks a rare victory for migrant worker activists, who have long argued that the city's 340,000 domestic workers - mostly women from the Philippines and Indonesia - are acutely vulnerable to various forms of abuse and exploitation.
Last year, British permanent resident Brian Apthorp was convicted of committing indecent assault against his domestic helper - referred to in legal papers as "CB".
After her win in court, she mounted another legal challenge - this time against the government for failing to properly investigate her more serious accusations of trafficking and forced labour.
High Court judge Russell Coleman on Friday ruled in CB's favour, saying that the authorities had "prematurely curtailed" their investigation into her case.
He said it was "manifestly irrational and unsound" for the police to dismiss the possibility of forced labour. "The police's investigation did not set (out) to discover a case of forced labour, but instead targeted a case of indecent assault because that was the only charge which could have been brought,"
Hong Kong uses a patchwork of criminal offences to target trafficking and forced labour, which Judge Coleman said does not adequately protect victims of forced labour and called for more specific laws.
Charging Apthorp with indecent assault - instead of the more serious trafficking and forced labour charges - meant the prison terms are capped at shorter lengths.
He ordered that an investigation into CB's case be reopened.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
