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| The 3 tourists were sentenced in Eastern court |
Three Filipino tourists have each been sentenced to five
months in jail after pleading guilty in Eastern Court to four counts of “using
false instruments” in opening accounts in two Hong Kong banks.
Enrique Vargas, Ryan Illustrisimo and Maureen Gutierrez, all
call center workers, had their heads bowed, with Vargas wiping away tears, as
Magistrate Lam Tsz-kam read the sentences to them.
All had pleaded guilty to the offence.
Lam sentenced each to four months in jail for using the
forged documents in opening accounts at Bank of China, and an additional month
for using the same documents at Standard Chartered Bank.
Vargas, a customer service officer, had told investigators
the three of them did not know each other. He said he only responded to an
offer on social media about free travel and accommodation to Hong
Kong .
When he contacted the person who posted the offer, he found
out the deal was to come here and open a banking account.
All three suspects said they saw the same offer and grabbed
the opportunity to visit Hong Kong for free.
They said the documents were handed to them by local men who met them when they
arrived here on Oct 9.
Vargas and Illustrisimo, who were both 30, and Gutiterrez,
23, were arrested on Oct 10 last year after they submitted forged work
contracts and home addresses to successfully open bank accounts at the Bank of
China branch in United Centre in Admiralty.
According to the prosecution, the defendants went to the BOC
branch at 1:30pm and submitted work contracts with Wharf (Holdings) Ltd dated
Oct 2, 2018 and address proofs dated Oct 5.
The bank’s senior operations manager later discovered faults
in the contracts, such as typographical errors and suspicious Hong Kong
addresses. Suspecting that the contracts were forged, the officer suspended the
defendants’ accounts.
When Vargas, Illustrisimo and Gutierrez tried but failed to
access their accounts around 1:40pm, they returned to the BOC branch and were
told to wait. Unknown to them, the case was reported to the police and at
2:30pm, they were arrested.
Officers also searched the hotel rooms of the three but
found nothing significant.
A day earlier, the three successfully opened bank accounts
at the Standard Chartered branch at The Forum Exchange on Connaught Road
Central using the same forged documents.
The human resources manager of Wharf, meanwhile, confirmed
that the contracts were forged.
Staff of Cathay Pacific Airlines contacted by police said
the defendants had confirmed return flights to Manila
from Hong Kong on Oct 13.
