HONG KONG, 27 September 2007 — Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung, one of Chinese pop’s biggest acts, has been barred by Filipino officials from hiring any more maids from the Philippines after he fired too many them in recent years, a newspaper reported.
A Filipino activist yesterday questioned Cheung’s employment practices and criticized the Philippine consulate, which must certify all Filipino maid contracts in Hong Kong, for not acting sooner to blacklist the singer.
The Filipino Globe newspaper — published for Hong Kong’s community of Filipino workers — reported the unusually high maid turnover at Cheung’s household in its September edition, citing local consular records.
The report said only a few of the 21 maids Cheung hired over three years completed their two-year contracts.
The newspaper said Cheung’s wife, former actress May Lo, met with Consul General Alejandrino Vicente but failed to appeal the blacklisting, which prevents the Cheung household from renewing the contracts of their current four Filipino maids when their contracts expire.
Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper reported yesterday that Cheung and his wife live with their two daughters in a more than 3,000-square-foot (270-square-meter) apartment.