A 65-year-old retired teacher was given a suspended jail sentence after assaulting a Filipino domestic helper in Hong Kong.
In a report from South China Morning Post, Chow Ching-yee pleaded guilty earlier this month to a count of common assault on Ruby Funa Caman.
Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai at Sha Tin Court sentenced her to a four-week imprisonment on Monday morning but suspended her term for 18 months.
Ching Yee told the police that she had pulled Caman's hair and slapped her at her residence after refusing to give her a hand massage.
The court said Caman started working for Chow and her husband at the couple’s flat in Villa Esplanada in Tsing Yi in December last year, the report added.
According to the prosecutors’ case summary, Chow suddenly pulled Caman’s hair and slapped her face, shoulder and back for about half a minute in the midst of an argument on April 18.
The retired teacher also tried to grab the helper’s smartphone after the latter filmed the assault, causing Caman to sustain a 2cm scratch mark on her right forearm and redness on her right shoulder.
In a separate police interview, Chow also admitted that she assaulted Caman “out of anger and discontent with her job performance.”
“Defense counsel said in mitigation the offence was out of character, adding the employer was suffering from depression and was mentally drained from taking care of her ill husband,” SCMP report added.
While Chi-wai accepted that Chow could not handle her emotions after she stopped taking her medication, Cheung maintained that foreign helpers should still not be treated as “slaves.”
“As an employer, the defendant could have dismissed the helper to mark her dissatisfaction with her job performance, instead of resorting to violence,” Chi-wai said.
Chi-wai also warned the public that attacks on foreign helpers will not be dealt with leniency.