Eleven domestic workers have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of “child destruction” and illegal abortions, police have said.
The women, in their 30s and 40s, were rounded up after one was found at her employer’s home with a dead foetus, later confirmed to be at least 28 weeks old.
Police also found drugs they suspected were abortion pills – which eventually led them to the 10 other women.
Five have since been charged, while five are on bail and one has been remanded in custody for further investigation. If found guilty of the most serious charge, child destruction, they could face a life sentence.
The investigation began in June after paramedics were called to help a 39-year-old domestic worker, who had collapsed at her employer’s home.
Paramedics then found the foetus hidden in a laundry basket in her room, police said, which had not been born alive.
When questioned, the woman admitted buying the pills from a friend – another foreign domestic worker.
She was arrested in July, with police eventually carrying out a series of raids between 29 July and 8 August, during which another eight domestic workers were detained.
Inspector Lam Ho-yin, of the Yuen Long district crime squad, said it did not appear to be a crime syndicate. Instead, preliminary findings showed “the 32-year-old foreign domestic helper… brought them back from another country” and had been allegedly selling them on.
It is not clear what each woman – whose nationalities police would not reveal – has been accused of.
Abortion is legal in Hong Kong, but only under strict conditions – under 24 weeks when continuing with the pregnancy would damage the mother’s life, or if health is at risk, or in the case of severe foetal abnormality. Over 24 weeks, abortions can only be carried out if the mother’s life is in danger.
People found guilty of supplying or using drugs for abortion can face up to seven years of jail time.
On Friday, police asked employers to get their domestic workers to speak to a medical professional if they were pregnant.
Hong Kong hosts some 368,000 foreign domestic workers, according to government statistics. Most – some 55% – come from the Philippines, while 42% are from Indonesia.
Most earn a government-fixed monthly minimum wage of HK$4,990 (US$636; £473).
