Hong Kong News Continues Coverage

Hong Kong News, the largest circulation Filipino newspaper in the city, has maintained its coverage of Vicky’s case in its main July edition. Two articles feature on the second page, one reporting an interview with Philippine Vice-Consul Val Roque and the other with Justice for Vicky spokesman James Rice.
The interview with the Vice-Consul covers the [...]

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Time for Patience

As we await the final police report on Vicky’s disappearance and death it pays to remember that although this blog has carried a good deal of news about the case, not all information is available to us.
In every locality around the world, police investigations are conducted in secrecy. We have repeatedly noted our concern about [...]

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Legal Rights Seminar for Discovery Bay

Help for Domestic Helpers, an NG0 based at St John’s Cathedral in Central, has offered to conduct a seminar on legal rights for domestic helpers here in Discovery Bay next month.
Members of the Justice for Vicky concern group will attend a similar seminar in Central this weekend and offer advice on how the format might [...]

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Early Investigation Questioned

The Justice for Vicky concern group has written another letter to the Tung Chung police, copied to the Coroner’s Office. The letter, delivered by fax yesterday, 23 June, asked for or requested the consideration of information pertinent to the early stages of the police investigation into Vicky’s disappearance and death.
An important point to note is [...]

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Reply from Ombudsman

Members of the Justice for Vicky concern group who signed the letter to the police District Commander now featured on this blog have received a reply, of sorts. The original letter was copied to the Coroner’s Office and the government Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman has acknowledged receipt of the letter and pointed out [...]

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Employers Pay in Full

Vicky’s former employers paid her outstanding salary and long-service entitlements through their lawyer today, 18 June. Vicky’s sister Irene received a Cashier’s Order for the amount, on behalf of her mother.
Our focus now turns solely to the final police report, which is due within a month. In the meantime, we will announce anything of relevance [...]

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Police Report Within a Month

The final police report on Vicky’s disappearance and death should be issued within a month. Mr Gil Salceda of the Assistance to Nationals Section at the Philippine Consulate informed Vicky’s sister Irene of the news last Friday, 13 June. Responding to a Consulate inquiry, the police stated that the report would be ready in four [...]

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Other Happenings

We mentioned earlier that as Vicky’s case progresses we would move toward looking more generally at the conditions of domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Unfortunately we haven’t had to travel very far to uncover mistreatment.
Over the last few weeks in Discovery Bay we have been involved with or become aware of:

1 case of insufficient food [...]

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Employers Agree to Pay

Vicky’s sister Irene attended the Labour Tribunal today, 13 June, but her sister’s former employers did not. However, they did agree by telephone to pay all outstanding salary and long-service entitlements.
Upon receipt of the full payment, Irene will sign an agreement not to pursue further claims against the employers for any salary-related amounts. She will [...]

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Inside DB Article on Separate Page

The Inside DB article on reactions to Vicky’s disappearance and death has now been included as a separate page on this blog. Just click on the ‘Helping Helpers’ tab above for access.
The page contains a download link for the PDF file of the article and images of each page that can be enlarged.

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Police Report Scrutiny

The Justice for Vicky Flores concern group is currently scrutinising the initial police report on Vicky’s case for inconsistencies. The report was provided by the Tung Chung police to the Philippine Consulate, summarising the case to 22 April. It is not an official report, but does reflect the police approach to the case that we [...]

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Labour Tribunal Date Set

Vicky’s sister Irene has submitted a claim to the the Labour Tribunal to recover outstanding long-service payments from Vicky’s former employers. She will attend an initial meeting at the Tribunal next Friday, 13 June.
Any relevant details will be reported here when they become available.

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Toxicology Results Negative

The results of the toxicology tests on blood and liver samples taken from Vicky’s body have been released. No toxic substances were found.
The report mentions the presence of a ’sub-therapeutic level’ of paracetamol in Vicky’s liver, but that is a very common condition. Paracetamol is the main ingredient of Panadol, which many people take for [...]

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Request for Toxicology Results

Vicky’s sister Irene today, 5 June, faxed the Coroner’s Office requesting the release of the toxicology test results if they are currently available. The latest possible date on which the results can be released is 15 June, but given the difficulty and delays Irene faced in securing the partial autopsy report, it seemed wise to [...]

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Full Inside DB Article Available Here

Joan Gill of Inside DB magazine has kindly made available a copy of her article on the reaction to Vicky’s disappearance and death. You can open or download it in a PDF file for the moment. Blog administrator Mike Poole will convert the file into images and upload them to a separate page for easier [...]

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Labour Tribunal Conciliation Soon

Vicky’s sister Irene will be returning to Hong Kong tomorrow. Her aim on this visit will be to secure the results of the toxicology test from the Coroner’s Office, follow up the police investigation, and take the case for payment of her sister’s overdue salary and long service entitlement to the Labour Tribunal.
A feature [...]

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Rally and Mass Photos

Following requests from readers unable to access our photos from the Justice for Vicky rallies and the memorial mass in Hung Hom, linked images are now available in the sidebar. Just click on one of the images to visit the corresponding Flickr photostream.
You might experience delays in loading the pages – the problem will be [...]

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Inside DB Magazine Shows the Way

The current issue of Inside DB, the Discovery Bay community magazine, features a three page article on reactions to Vicky’s disappearance and death. Written by Joan Gill, who conducted interviews with Bethune House Director Edwina Antonio and blog administrator Mike Poole, the article is a comprehensive guide to what has happened, the conditions under which [...]

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