The SUN HK : Heat stroke suspected in elderly Pinay DH’s death

Pamemla Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital where the victim was declared dead o n arrival.

By Vir B. Lumicao

A 63-year-old Filipina domestic worker with a known heart ailment was found dead on Monday morning, Aug 12, in her bed in Shaukeiwan, a likely victim of heat stroke.

The helper, Milagrosa M. Aligaen, a widow with two grown-up sons, was discovered dead by her 62-year-old employer on the lower deck of a bunk bed that they shared in the latter’s flat.

Aligaen’s sister-in-law, Elsa Cordero, said the employer called up police on Monday morning after she found her maid already lifeless.

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The officers who responded called an ambulance crew that took Aligaen to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital where she was certified dead, said Cordero, who was also contacted immediately by the employer.

The actual cause of her death is still being determined by the coroner.

Aligaen, a native of Maasin, Iloilo, had been complaining about a heart problem and taking maintenance medicines, said Cordero.

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During their last meeting on Sunday Aug 12, Aligaen complained to Cordero that she could not sleep and had difficulty breathing due to the hot weather in the past few days.

“Sinasabi niya naiinitan siya at nahihirapang huminga dahil sa init pero ayaw ng amo niyang magbukas ng aircon,” Cordero said.

She said the employer’s flat was small so they had to share the double-deck bed, with the employer occupying the upper deck. To cool herself, the victim reportedly used a tiny portable electric fan.

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The Hong Kong Observatory has issued a hot weather warning over the past several days as the city baked under high temperatures of 33 to 35 degrees Celsius.

Aligaen was hired seven years ago to take care of the employer’s father, who is in a home for the elderly, Cordero said. The deceased came to work in Hong Kong in 1990.

While the employer worked at a 7-Eleven store in the area, the maid reportedly had to go to the elderly home everyday to look after the old man’s needs.

On Wednesday, the employer went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to report the death of Aligaen and work on the required documents for her repatriation.

Cordero said the employer wants the deceased cremated, but Aligaen’s sons, who had already been informed of their mother’s death, want her flown home and buried in her hometown.

The remains are in Victoria Mortuary in Kennedy Town but will be moved to a funeral home in Hung Hom for a planned public viewing this Sunday, Aug 18, Cordero said.

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