Pictures of FDH cleaning Quarry Bay flat window go viral

A foreign domestic worker is seen cleaning a window more than 20 floors above ground in Kornhill Gardens, Quarry Bay in July 2018

Pictures of a foreign domestic helper (FDH) precariously cleaning a window from the outside and more than 20 floors above ground in Quarry Bay went viral online this morning.

The pictures were taken in Kornhill Gardens, Quarry Bay, this morning. The FDH’s flat is “either on the 23rd or the 24th floor,” said a Filipina domestic worker who took the pictures.

“My conscience can’t take it anymore. I see her every morning cleaning (the window), even if the weather is bad,” said the Filipina, who asked not to be identified.

“Even if it had just rained, she still cleans that window. I wanted long ago to take a video or picture of her but I was afraid. This morning, my conscience could not take it anymore,” she added.

She also said that she did not know if the FDH was a Filipina or an Indonesian.

The pictures have gone viral on Facebook, with many FDHs pointing out that it is illegal in Hong Kong for a worker to clean windows from the outside.

The Hong Kong government, starting January 2017, prohibited FDHs from cleaning flat windows from the outside and this is clearly stated under the standard contract for FDHs.

It said if the worker were to clean the outside portion of flat windows, the window should have a grille that is locked or secured and “no part of the helper’s body extends beyond the window ledge except the arms.”