Introduction

Alright, finally go time to start one. I have a lot of news to backdate, so for some, I may not have the exact date of posting…also, where possible, I will also include image of the original article!

Summary of News

29 year old Filipino maid Teresa Asuncion Acosta attempted to perform a ‘ritual’ so as to be treated better by her employee, by using water that had been mixed with washing detergent and baby powder. Her employee, a 32 year old Ms. Zhang, as well as her five and a half year old son and sixty-something mother, subsequently experienced bouts of throwing up and diarrhoea after drinking water the maid poured for them. She has been accused of one charge of child abuse and three counts of attempts of harm/use of poisons, which she denied.

My Reaction

As a DISCLAIMER, while I am not explicitly racist, IN GENERAL I do not like MOST South-East Asian maids. Contradiction you ask? Let me explain, first. I specifically do not like South-Eastern maids that: 1) Speak extremely loudly in public, whether it be on the phone or each other, disregarding everyone around them 2) Clog the streets/stairs/public parks/pavements/roads on the weekends [more on this later] 3) Attempt crime while under the trust and pay of their employee.

Now, note that all 3 reasons I would use against anyone of whom those traits apply to. However, if you’ve lived in Hong Kong for a while – perhaps even been here as a tourist long enough – you may notice that #1 and #2 apply to most South-East Asian maids. Especially #2…especially on Sundays (I will include a small section after my main response to explain the situation, to those who are unfamiliar).

But I digressed far too much, so back to the topic of the news. Not only did she honestly believe the ritual to work (take into account the ingredients she used, and what she thought the ritual would accomplish...is it what a normal rational person would think?), she used it on the five and a half month old child. That...is just outrageous and ridiculous! Did she not think any of them would be in danger???

Regardless, this isn’t the last, or only, news among many employees betraying their employers trust. There are many forms of staff betrayal in various industries and countries. However, her profession is one of which the employer invites them into their home, pays and arranges a place to sleep (usually). The level of trust assumed – to be brought into someone’s house and to raise their children – is not something you should take lightly at all! Absolutely unacceptable...

To wrap it up: Think twice and hard before hiring babysitters, maids [of any kind or ethnicity], because ultimately, while you may assume they are trustworthy, if that trust is betrayed, you are very vulnerable as they are, have, or is in your home.

Side note: Explanation of Weekend Amassing

Where as it would be illegal for anyone else to have a huge gathering (illegal gathering/grouping law), those maids are allowed to amass in huge amounts (even if the countless small groups making the huge crowd may not know each other, the grand total amount if astonishing).

They lay out mats on stairs, pedestrian walkways, and even closed off roads, and treat it like a picnic. To be honest, it really makes the ‘view’ look bad – but that’s my opinion, you should come to our own conclusion; if you would like pictures or videos (in the case that you can’t/don’t plan on visiting Hong Kong soon), I will be happy to provide them.