The District Court is weighing its decision on two separate cases filed Indonesian maids who claimed they were fired after being found pregnant.
Waiyah, the plaintiff in the first case, said her boss had forced her to take a pregnancy test, while the second, Riyanti, said she was insulted and fired after her employer found out she was infanticipating.
Waliyah initially sued Terence Yip Hoi-sun and his former wife, Chan Man-hong, separately but the two cases were consolidated for the trial even though Yip never showed up in court. His whereabouts are unknown.
The trial scheduled for three days should have begun March 7 but stalled as Chan came looking sick, forcing Judge Alex Lee to adjourn the case after Waliyah testified.
The judge also instructed prosecutor Earl Deng to delve deeper into the Labour Code’s stand on terminating an employee who is more than six months pregnant.
Waliyah, giving evidence, said she was seven months pregnant when Yip fired her. On the witness stand, she said Chan ordered her to pee in a potty when she woke up on Oct 31, 2013, then dipped a pregnancy test strip into the vessel. She was fired Nov 2.
Waliyah said she had a difficult time finding a job after giving birth, but found one that lasted just six months. Then on Dec 14, 2015 she found a new employer who hired her for $5,000 a month on a two-year contract
In the trial on May 20, Chan represented herself and cross-examined Waliyah. She asked the Indonesian if she heard her tell Yip to fire her, and the helper said “no”.
At one point in the trial, Judge Lee asked Waliyah whether she knew the difference between the verb “force” and “ask”, as she had stated in the case that Chan forced her to urinate for the test. The maid admitted her mistake and said she was asked to do so.
Lee adjourned the case to a future date for the judgment.
Meanwhile, Riyanti is suing her former employer Wong Po-chu under the Employment Ordinance and Sex Discrimination Ordinance for allegedly bombarding her with insults after she found out she was pregnant, a District Court writ said.
Riyanti is seeking a $121,233 claim for breach of contract and other damages the District Court may grant.
The Indonesian accused Wong Po-chu, a nurse at Yan Chai Hospital, as saying: “You are a Muslim. Why are you with this man and got pregnant? This man is dirty,” told Riyanti.
Wong found out the maid was pregnant after she grabbed from Riyanti a medical report from Princess Margaret Hospital on April 8 stating she had been treated for an abscess.
Riyanti said she was taken to a clinic for check-ups on HIV and sexually transmitted diseases on succeeding days, according to the writ.
She had renewed her work contract with Wong thrice since 2010, despite a setback early in her job when the boss did not let her go home for the burial of her husband.
Riyanti said Wong made her copy and sign a prepared resignation letter on April 8, and verbally abused her again at the employment agency the next day. She was sent home on April 10.
PathFinders, a Hong Kong charity seeking to ensure that migrant workers and their Hong Kong-born children are respected and protected, said it is unlawful to fire any female employee due to her pregnancy. The law applies to all workers, including foreign domestic helpers.
However, the law also requires the helper to inform the employer about her pregnancy within a period.
