A Filipina domestic helper in Hongkong is currently behind bars after pleading guilty of mistreating her employer’s 10-month-old child.
Guilty
Joan, 34 years old admits her crime of physical abuse to her employer’s baby during her trial at the West Kowloon Magistrates Courts in Sham Shui Po. Her employer filed a case against her after learning that Joan was abusing her innocent child whenever she was out of her house.
The Evidence of Abuse
According to the complainant, her child had been occasionally vomiting which started in December 2018. She took her child to a doctor and where the baby underwent a series of tests to check the condition but the result showed no signs of abuse. However, the employer had a bad feeling towards the nanny so she checked the CCTV which was installed inside her house.
In the video footage, Joan was seen forcefully swinging and cradling the baby side by side without proper neck support several times. Despite having a negative result of abuse in the baby’s CT Scan, the doctor said that the infant’s neck muscles were not yet fully developed which might be the reason for the child’s vomiting and possible cerebral hemorrhage.
Reason of Maltreating
According to the defendant’s lawyer, as early as November 2018, Joan and her employer had an agreement allowing her to spend holidays in the Philippines in February 2019. The domestic helper secured a plane ticket in advance in preparation for her supposed vacation. However, when December came, her employer made a condition of her having a contraceptive injection before leaving Hongkong to assure that she will not get pregnant during her holidays.
Joan refused to have the shot which prompted her employer to cancel her supposed holiday. As the schedule of the trip come closer, Joan’s frustration and anger towards her employer kept growing. The poor baby took all Joan’s resentment and received the maltreatment.
As of the moment, Joan is in jail custody while waiting for her verdict which is scheduled to be released on July 2.
