Disease kills sacked maid who beat cancer

Baby Jane Allas, a domestic helper from the Philippines who was sacked following her cancer diagnosis, died of a kidney infection in her hometown over the weekend.

She had earlier recovered from cancer after receiving public support for her treatment via crowdfunding.

The Equal Opportunities Commission filed a lawsuit on Allas' behalf against her former employer. The case has yet to be settled.

Jessica Cutrera, the American employer of Allas' sister, announced the sad news on a Facebook page yesterday.

"I am very sad to report Baby Jane passed away this weekend unexpectedly as a result of a kidney infection," Cutrera wrote. "Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers."

Allas, 40, a single mother of five children aged eight to 18, was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in 2019.

She received a letter of termination a month after her diagnosis. Her Pakistani employer, Jamil Bushra, gave her diagnosis as the reason for her dismissal.

With the termination of her employment, hopes of getting her medical expenses covered under Hong Kong laws ended.

Cutrera then took Allas in after she was sacked and also started an online fund-raiser for Allas' medical treatment back in the Philippines.

More than HK$850,000 was raised, surpassing the target of HK$650,000. She also helped Allas submit a case to the Equal Opportunities Commission and Labour Department.

Allas originally planned to return to Hong Kong after recovering from cancer and was running a small convenience store in the Philippines to make ends meet on her own property, which she bought in November with Cutrera's help.

Allas came to Hong Kong in 2017 and worked for the Pakistani family of six for a minimum salary of HK$4,520 per month and sent half of it back to the Philippines.

She asked her employer not to fire her so she could receive treatment at a public hospital under a working visa. However, her employer did not grant her the request.

She reported feeling unwell last year. She was allowed to visit a doctor only on January 20, when she was diagnosed with cancer and transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital.

The doctor issued her a sick leave certificate until February 18, but the employer fired her a day before her sick leave ended.

Allas earlier alleged she was only allowed leftovers or expired food and had lost 16 kilograms since she first arrived in Hong Kong.