Pop star fired 21 maids in three years?

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong Canto-pop star Jacky Cheung has been banned from hiring any more maids from the Philippines after firing 21 in three years, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Cheung and his wife, former actress May Lo, were placed on a "blacklist of sub-standard employers" maintained by the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong after hiring and firing 21 maids in three years, the South China Morning Post reported.

His track record has earned him the nickname of the "the terminator" within the local Filipino community.

Joel Blas, an assistant national officer at the Philippines consulate, was quoted as saying his consul-general had met Lo last week to explain she'd "not be allowed to hire any helpers from the Philippines for one year."

Considered one of the four "Cantopop Heavenly Kings," Cheung has built up a huge pan-Asian fan base in a career spanning more than 20 years.

The blacklisting comes after a former Filipino helper working under Cheung, Preslyn-saga Catacutan, was controversially jailed last year for stealing photographs and a letter from the star.

She was quoted by the Post as saying she was "the 60th helper" to have been sacked by Cheung altogether.

Affluent Hong Kong and Singapore have thousands of maids from less well-off neighbors such as the Philippines and Indonesia, with courts often hearing cases of rape and other abuse by their employers.