The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) issued the following statement today (10 March 2025) to set the record straight in response to recent media reports (9 March 2025) of the statements made by the family of foreign domestic worker Ms Baby Jane Allas, alleging that the EOC has been handling the case of Ms Allas for an extended period without any resolution:

• Ms Baby Jane Allas made a complaint to the EOC in 2019 under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) (Cap. 487), on the ground that her former employer terminated her employment contract due to her disability. The EOC completed investigation of the complaint and decided to provide legal assistance to Ms Allas within approximately eight months. In 2020, the EOC commenced legal proceedings on behalf of Ms Allas (the Claimant) in the District Court against her former employer (the Respondent). The case number for the proceedings is DCEO 11/2020. It is completely untrue to say that the EOC had taken years to undertake investigation of the complaint.
   
• Although Ms Allas subsequently returned to the Philippines, the EOC continued to provide legal assistance in the proceedings and had maintained communications with her on the continuing conduct of the case. Unfortunately, Ms Allas passed away in 2021, which necessitated suspension of the proceedings until an authorised person was appointed to replace Ms Allas to continue pursuit of the proceedings. Family of Ms Allas then underwent procedures in the Philippines and Hong Kong to apply for administration of her estate in Hong Kong.  As the application process involved the laws in two jurisdictions, the whole process took more than two and a half years to conclude. In early 2024, the Hong Kong Court approved Ms Allas’ estate administratrix to carry on the disability discrimination claim in place of Ms Allas. The EOC has been providing assistance to the estate administratrix for applications relating to the disability discrimination claim at the Hong Kong Court. Another complexity in the case was that the Respondent had moved away from the last known address without any contact information. As a result, the EOC had to apply to the Court for substituted service of legal documents on the Respondent in accordance with court rules. Currently, the EOC is actively advancing the legal proceedings related to the disability discrimination claim and is maintaining communication with the appointed administrators of Ms Allas.
   
• As the statutory body responsible for enforcing the DDO and other anti-discrimination laws, the EOC attaches great importance to handling complaint cases promptly. This response of the EOC is issued to provide clarity on the conduct of legal proceedings and to set the record straight for public awareness. To protect the rights of the parties involved in the on-going proceedings, the EOC is unable to disclose further information of the proceedings. 

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