Veronica Baylon, 45, was also originally charged with breaching her condition of stay for overstaying since May 2010. She pleaded guilty to that charge in an earlier hearing and was given a three-month sentence to run concurrently with the new sentence.
Before the sentencing, Baylon’s counsel told Judge Joseph Yau that he had received a report from the police indicating the drug seized from her during a raid in a North Point hotel room in May 2015 was for her own use to relieve her asthma. During that raid, the officers also found out that she had a baby.
The report also said the rest of the methamphetamine hydrochloride or “ice” and equipment that police found in the hotel room belonged to her boyfriend, Aziz Khan, a drug abuser who introduced her to drugs in 2013.
In mitigation, the defense lawyer sought leniency for Baylon, who he said finished six contracts as a domestic helper in Hong Kong before her last contract was terminated and she was forced to overstay her visa.
The lawyer said his client was very remorseful and had learned a bitter lesson.
Yau noted Baylon’s claim that she used ice to treat her asthma. He also said she had two previous convictions including one for breach of condition of stay.
Baylon, a commerce graduate, came to Hong Kong to support her three children who were reportedly neglected by their father. But while in Hong Kong she got pregnant by a boyfriend, then after she gave birth she cohabited with another man.
Yau said that since Baylon had been in custody for about a year, she could be released soon. – Vir B. Lumicao
