A former civil servant in Hong Kong convicted of scalding her Bangladeshi househelp last year has been given jail sentence of six months, said Bangladesh Consul General Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood.
“The victim, Begum Roksana, can also apply for compensation, and we are encouraging her to do so,” he told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.
He also said the jail sentence of the accused, Au Wai-chun, 61, would start after 18 months due to her illness.
At the hearing on September 22, District Court Judge Pang Chung-ping said Au Wai-chun had undermined the city’s reputation by pouring hot water on Roksana, as the South China Morning Post reported the next day.
“Not only did you destroy the trust foreign workers have in Hong Kong employers, but also their reputation,” the judge told the convicted.
He suspended the sentence for 18 months – on condition that Au will not reoffend within that time – due to her chronic medical conditions as well as overwhelming support for her previously good character.
Roksana, who suffered first- and second-degree burns on her chest in the incident, is now under the supervision of Technic Employment Service Centre Ltd in Hong Kong.
The court earlier heard that Au asked Raksona for a cup of hot water at her home at Bauhinia Garden in Tseung Kwan O in Hong Kong on September 30 last year. Au complained that it was not hot enough, and after a row she poured the water down Roksana’s shirt.
A number of Bangladeshi househelps have earlier returned from Hong Kong after losing their jobs and placed complaints of abuse at the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training. Demanding compensation, the migrants also asked to be exempted from the repayment of their bank loans.
However, their loans have yet to be written off, though they are not being pressurised to pay off their debts, said a senior official at the bureau.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Nurul Islam, joint secretary at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, said some of the allegations were true.
“We had a meeting with the recruiting agencies to determine how the female migrants’ difficulties could be minimised... We have yet to revise the agreement between the bureau and the Hong Kong recruiters to accommodate the specific concerns raised about employment conditions in Hong Kong."