Police search for OFW hiding in China

The police in China are looking for a Filipino domestic worker who left her tour group and went into hiding earlier this month, a tourist agency official said.

Steven Xu, a travel agency business director, said they were offering up to HKD20,000 for anyone who had information about Angeline C. Curato, a domestic worker in Macau, who left her group that was on a tour in Shenzhen. Her Chinese tourist visa expired yesterday (October 18).

“We would like to pay HKD10,000 to HKD20,000 for anyone who can provide clues for us to get her,” said Mr. Xu.

He added that Curato’s employer in Macau was also looking for her and was not told by the Filipina that she was going to mainland China.

Mr. Xu said the incident happened at around lunchtime on October 14, a Sunday and Curato’s day off. The helper had joined a group of overseas Filipino workers from Hong Kong on a one-day tour of Shenzhen.

“She came here by using our group tourist visa and ran away from the group tour without (informing) the other group members or the guide. We found out that she took a taxi and left the restaurant,” Mr. Xu said.

He said that, because of what Curato did, her fellow Filipinos in the tour group had to “wait for five hours for investigation by China immigration” before they were allowed to come back to HK.

Mr. Xu said they immediately reported the incident to the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou because, once she is caught, Curato could face at least three months in jail.