Witness denies report HK woman was bitten by Filipino helper's dog
The original uploader of a viral video showing a Chinese woman verbally abusing a Filipino domestic helper has denied a report that the Chinese got mad because she was bitten by the domestic helper's dog.
Mel Santiago, a Filipino working in Hong Kong for nearly 8 years, denied that the Chinese woman was attacked by the domestic helper's dog last Thursday, March 15.
She said the Filipina, known only as "MJ", always takes her boss' 2 dogs and the baby she was caring for to the dog park.
"Dun niya pinakakain. Then hinahayaan niyang maglaro sa park 'yung aso. Sa totoo, okay naman aso niya. Makahol lang talaga kasi sausage dog (dachshund) po yun. Hindi nangangagat," she said in a Facebook interview.
(That's where she feeds [the baby]. She lets the dogs run in the park, the dogs are OK, they just bark a lot because they are sausage dogs. They don't bite.)
Santiago said she witnessed the altercation while she was walking her dog at Tseung Kwan O Dog Park last Thursday at around 6 p.m.
"Nadinig ko na yung mura kasi nga nasa kabilang fence ako. 'Yun na, nag simple ko ng lagay sa dibdib ko 'ng [cellphone]. Vinideohan ko," she said.
(I heard cussing while I was on the other side of the fence. That was when I surreptitiously put my cellphone on my chest and took a video.)
In the video, which has received more than 1.3 million views, the Chinese woman can be seen demanding that the Filipina call her boss after their dogs got into a fight.
"You should shut the f*ck up! You are just a helper, OK?" the woman shouted, as the Filipino responded: "Why should I shut up? Do not put your hand to me!"
Santiago said it was the Chinese woman's dog, allegedly of Japanese breed, that charged first.
"S'yempre nagpapakain ng baby [si MJ]. Hinayaan n'ya kasi nga alam n'yang hindi naman talaga aggresive ang aso n'ya. 'Tas ang Japanese dog ang lumapit at sinugod. Then pagkatapos nagkaroon ng komosyon," she said.
She said one Chinese snatched one of MJ's dogs. The other dog, however, got into a fight with the Chinese woman's dog. "Nag salpukan, kalmutan ganun," she recalled.
It was during that time that the Chinese woman picked up her dog who was still spoiling for a fight. A witness said it was the Chinese woman's dog that scratched her.
"[Nung] makita ng Chinese yun...binuhat n'ya aso n'ya..e nagwawala. Ayun, kinagat s'ya. Then dahil nasugatan s'ya sa pagwawala ng aso n'ya, nagalit s'ya kay MJ," she said.
Santiago said the Chinese woman had 2 other companions at the time of the incident.
BITTEN BY A DOG?
An Apple Daily report on Sunday, however, gave a different version of the events. The report said it was MJ's dog that bit the Chinese woman's hand, and that the Chinese had to undergo surgery.
Santiago, however, said the report is full of lies.
"'Yan sabi sa article puro kasinungalingan. Then ako po nandun ako, nakita ko nasugatan s'ya gasgas lang po. Hindi bleeding talaga," she said.
(What was said in the article is just lies. I was there. She was injured but it was just a scratch. It wasn't bleeding.)
She added: "Kung aso ni MJ, yun dapat nagpa police agad kasi danger pala yun. Kaso hindi e."
(If it was MJ's dog [that bit her], she should have gone straight to the police because there was a danger. But she did not.]
She denied that there had been complaints about MJ's handling of the dogs. "It's a public park. Talagang kakahol ang aso (Of course the dogs will bark)," she said.
Santiago said "MJ" has declined to be interviewed because she values her privacy and the privacy of her employer.
"Kung tutuusin, ang dami ko dapat isagot sa kanya that time pero pressure na [ako] ng pagtatalak niya plus iyak ng bata, kahol ng aso...Wala na [akong] nasa isip kundi safety naming apat plus makalabas ng park..... Nakakasama ng loob," MJ told Santiago.
Santiago said she decided to upload the video on social media because the treatment received by the Filipina domestic helper was just wrong.
"Dapat yung Intsik na yan considerate siya kasi siya may helper, may husband pang kasama. Dapat aso nila ang kinontrol nila," she said in a Facebook thread.
"'Dapat s'ya nagkontrol sa aso niya kung ayaw n'ya pala ng kinakahulan at inaaway aso n'ya."
(The Chinese woman should have been more considerate because she had a helper, and her husband was also there. They should have controlled their dog.)
(She should have controlled her dog if she didn't want another dog barking and fighting her pet.)
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