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By Vir B. Lumicao
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| Taipo Nethersole Hospital |
Hong Kong police are reportedly looking into the death of a
Filipina domestic worker who died of lupus just five months after coming to Hong
Kong to work for an employer in Taipo.
Maristel Pepito, 35, died on Feb 18 in the Alice Ho Miu Ling
Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po, a night after her employer allegedly refused to heed
her appeal to be taken to the hospital because she was already spitting blood.
It was her newfound friend, Sheila Balisi, also a helper,
who took her to the hospital.
An officer at the Consulate’s assistance to nationals
section said on Feb 21 that the police are investigating the case.
He said an officer of the employment agency that deployed Pepito
five months ago went to the Consulate on Feb 21 at the invitation of the ATN to
shed light on what happened to her.
The employer, who was also asked to go to the Consulate, did
not go. But an agency staff handed a letter from the employer saying she could
not give any statement as the case was already being investigated by the
Coroner’s Court and police.
However, the employer said she would cooperate in
repatriating Pepito’s remains, the ATN officer said.
The coroner’s report on the cause of Pepito’s death is now
being awaited by ATN. The ATN officer could not tell whether the body is in the
hospital or in a public mortuary.
The death of Pepito was reported by Rodelia Villar, founder
of the Domestic Workers Group, on Jan 28 to the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration Hong Kong after she learned about her situation.
Villar said Balisi noticed the weak and sickly helper at the
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Tai Po last
Dec 26 and accompanied her to the hospital. A doctor there said she would have
to be confined due to infected leukemia.
But Pepito, a mother of three, reportedly took no heed and
continued working for her employer.
“Sinamahan ni Sheila sa ospital at ang sabi ng doctor,
kailangan na niya ma-confine dahil hindi na maganda ang kanyang kalagayan.
Ngunit dahil sa takot sa amo, umuwi siya at magtrabaho,” Villar said.
On Jan 18, Pepito was admitted and confined for a week due
to the leukemia infection. But, a week later, the doctor said the maid was
suffering from lupus, a long-term autoimmune disease in which the body's immune
system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue. Pepito was
confined for two weeks.
Villar learned about the case of Pepito on Jan 28 and
informed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Hong Kong about her
situation.
“Umiiyak na nagkuwento si Maristel tungkol sa kanyang
sitwasyon at wala siya umanong magagawa kundi tanggapin ang kanyang sakit,” said
Villar, who talked to the patient on the phone.
When Balisi visited Pepito in hospital on Feb 3, a Sunday,
the patient said the doctor had told her she would be moved to another hospital.
But the next day, she was discharged.
The maid had to return to her employers’ flat to continue
working. On Feb 11, she sent a message to Balisi complaining about not being
given enough food and not being paid on time.
