Simon notes a disturbing case of domestic abuse and bureaucratic oversight.:

The Standard says cheated employees ‘will have to blow the whistle‘ if they’ve been cheated on salaries by their employers, and testify if they want redress, otherwise the Government won’t help them. The article is concerned with Government contractors but the same applies for domestic helpers. For proof, let’s turn to a staggering case reported in the SCMP:

A Labour Department suggestion that a domestic helper who complained about harassment, death threats and abuse by her employer should be less sensitive and focus on her work has been described as "hopeless" by a judge… Under discussion was a Labour Department reply to a five-page hand-written letter sent by Ms Aquino detailing the extensive abuse she said she was suffering at the hands of her employers, Betty So Mei-ngor and her husband, Leung To-kwong….
Project officer Kwok Fu-ming from the department’s Tuen Mun branch office replied on Christmas Eve that year. "Do you think you should be so sensitive to the insulting words exhibited by the employers," he wrote after saying the contents of the letter had been noted. Focus on your job and reflect your feeling toward your employers’ temperament. Should you need further service, approach Family Services Centres of Social Welfare Department or other non-governmental services at your district."