Filipino domestic helper jailed for abusing 11-month-old baby in Happy Valley home

A Filipino domestic helper who dragged and pushed an 11-month-old baby girl in her employer’s Happy Valley flat has been sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse.

The Eastern Magistrates’ Courts heard on Friday that the helper, who had only been in her job for two months, repeatedly pulled the infant’s arms and legs and pushed her backward onto a bed, causing the baby’s head to strike the mattress.

The defendant, identified as A.J.B., 41, pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treatment or neglect by a person in charge of a child or young person.

In mitigation, the defense said she was a first-time domestic helper in Hong Kong who committed the offense because she had not adapted to the working environment and was under pressure. The defense also said she felt remorse toward the baby and her family, and medical reports showed the infant did not suffer serious injuries.

Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai said the victim was less than one year old and extremely vulnerable. He said closed-circuit television footage showed the defendant repeatedly pulling the baby’s limbs and striking her back, making the abuse more than a single incident.

He described the offense as serious and a breach of trust, setting a starting point of seven and a half months in prison before reducing the sentence to five months in view of the guilty plea.

The court previously heard that the baby was born in December 2024 and was under one year old at the time of the incident. The defendant was hired in August 2025 to take care of the child.

On November 11, 2025, the baby’s grandmother noticed abnormal shaking of the infant’s head on two occasions and signs of vomiting. She informed the baby’s mother, who later reviewed home surveillance footage and saw the helper pulling the baby’s arms and legs and repeatedly pushing her upper back and body onto the bed, causing her head to hit the mattress. The mother then reported the matter to police. The helper was arrested and the baby was taken to hospital for examination.