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| The accused assaulted the victim in a subdivided flat on this street in Wan Chai |
A Filipino driver who is accused of killing his domestic worker-girlfriend more than three years ago is on trial at the High Court for murder.
On the first day of his trial on Friday, Bernie Macatangay Valencia, 45, admitted repeatedly punching Filipina Ivy Villaluz Quiabang, then 37, in the head on Dec. 22, 2021, but said he did not intend to kill her.
“I plead not guilty to murder, but I plead guilty to manslaughter,” Valencia said when asked for his plea.
His lawyers said Valencia did not intend to kill or inflict serious bodily harm on the deceased, with what they described as a “dangerous act.”
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But the prosecutor alleged it was Valencia’s assault on Ivy, and subsequent failure to take her to the hospital, that led to her death.
In her opening statement, the prosecutor told the jury that a fight between Valencia and Quiabang after a Christmas party had turned violent on their return to their subdivided unit on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai.
Valencia, who was at the time applying for a new visa as FDH with driving duties, threw several punches on Quiabang, leaving her badly bruised and unable to get up or eat properly.
The prosecutor said that although he could see that Ivy was in bad shape Valencia did not call 999 for help. He waited until the next day to ask fellow tenants at the subdivided flat to check his girlfriend.
Her friends later said the domestic worker had become incontinent that they became alarmed and called the police.
Quiabang was already in a coma when she was rushed to Ruttonjee Hospital, and larter moved to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital after she was found to have suffered a brain hemorrhage. She was immediately operated on but never regained consciousness.
The single mother of two passed on at 7:52 am on Jan. 2, 2023, the day she was supposed to move in with a new employer.
The prosecutor said Valencia did not tell paramedics and the police about the assault, but only said his girlfriend was “sleeping.”
The prosecution will rely on the testimonies of 18 witnesses, a surveillance camera footage, social media messages retrieved from the defendant’s digital devices and an hour-long interview he had with investigators, to prove its case.
The trial before Judge William Tam is set for 12 days.
