2 Helpers jump to their death in Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- Melba A. Pardua, a domestic helper, was supposed to leave Thursday for her annual vacation to the Philippines.


The 50-year-old mother of four and another Filipino maid will be coming home in sealed lead coffins after they allegedly took their own lives last Monday by jumping out of the apartment buildings of their employers.


Pardua and 31-year-old Carolina A. Dacquil, both from Isabela province, were found dead on Monday morning outside the apartment buildings in North Point and Aberdeen districts, respectively, said Erlinda Albay, officer-in-charge of the assistance to nationals section of the Philippine Consulate here.


“There were no signs of foul play but the police investigation continues. No suicide letters were found,” Albay said.


Newspaper reports here said police suspect that the Filipinas committed suicide because of financial difficulties.


Pardua, who had been working for her Hong Kong employer for the past 13 years, was found dead at around 11:30 a.m. after she allegedly jumped out of the 10th floor apartment at North Point.


“Her employer was crying when she came here to report the incident. She said they were looking for her on Monday morning and they thought she just went out to buy a newspaper,” Albay said.


The Chinese employer said that Pardua did not mention any problem that she might have been having and that she was satisfied with the Filipina’s work. She said Pardua was on her seventh contract with the family.


Three of Pardua’s four children have already graduated from college while the youngest is studying to be a nurse.


According to Albay, Pardua’s niece and a friend have said that Pardua was noticeably depressed last Sunday, “that she was not herself.”


“The only thing her friend remembered was that Pardua was hoping that she could bring home more gifts when she goes on her regular vacation beginning [Thursday]. They were supposed to go home together,” Albay added.


Pardua’s remains will be flown to Tuguegarao on April 15 once all the necessary documents are ready.


Also on Monday, Dacquil was found dead at about 6 a. m. She had apparently jumped out of the 9th-floor apartment of her employer in Aberdeen.


Dacquil’s employers also said they did not know of any problem that the Filipina could have been undergoing. They said she had been working for them only since January 2007 although she had been in Hong Kong for seven years before that.


While there was still no clear evidence showing that financial problems led the two women to commit suicide, Albay said that this has cropped up in other suicide cases involving Filipinos working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong.


Some migrant organizations estimate that up to 90 percent of the estimated 125,000 Filipino domestics in Hong Kong are in debt because they borrowed money to come here or they took out loans to send cash to their families back in the Philippines.


http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view/20080409-129374/2-Filipinas-jump-to-their-death-in-Hong-Kong

Dear Ed, it is such a terrible, terrible tragedy, I am very sad for the helpers, their families and people close to them.

However, according to WHO statistics in 2004 show that there were 1,278 suicides in HK and 5 or them are children between 5 and 14!!! And nobody ever talks about that... We will never know why people kill themselves, it is just something they do... And not because they are DHs and their life is so tough.. I am one of the bigest DH defenders when it comes to it in this forum, but in this case kids 5-14 yrs of age killing themselves, not that scares me more...


Just a thought..

That's so sad. I feel for their families. I wonder how much debt had to do with these cases?

i was just wondering why its already concluded as suicide every time a fiipina helper dies from jumping off the building or something its alreadfy concluded as suicide why dig deeper to it before concluding its suicide

cindy_jps. One issue is that it would be enormously hard, perhaps impossible, to prove homicide if such occurred. But I agree a full investigation should be done.

My heart goes to these 2 DH and their families. I din't hear this news until now :(