A 37-year-old Indonesian domestic worker was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly mixing urine with water and serving it to her female employer in an apartment in the New Territories.
The domestic worker worked for a family in an apartment at Yau Hong House in Tin Yau Court in Tin Shui Wai, Radio Television Hong Kong reported.
The female employer felt unwell at around 1am but found that the color of the water she drank had changed. Smelling the water, she suspected that urine had been added to it.
The woman’s husband called the police. After an initial investigation, officers arrested the worker for allegedly administering poison with intent to injure.
Officers from Yuen Long district crime squad investigated the case, while the 31-year-old female employer was sent to a hospital for medical treatment.
Under the Offenses Against the Person Ordinance, any person who unlawfully and maliciously administers a substance to another person, such as poison, or has intent to injure the other person could face up to three years in jail if convicted.
There have been several similar cases in the past in which domestic workers have been convicted for the same offense, news website HK01.com reported.
In one case, a 26-year-old Indonesian worker was sent to prison for nine months after it was discovered that she poured toilet water and served it to a 4-year-old she was caring for. The worker allegedly said it was a tradition from her home-town that could get children to listen to her and be good.