By Vir B. Lumicao
 |
| Among those found in Yarte's possession were fake Gucci bags like these |
A Filipina domestic worker has been jailed for two weeks
after admitting in Eastern Court
that she was selling fake branded goods and had violated her work visa by
engaging in business.
J. Yarte pleaded guilty before Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan on Dec
11 to charges of “possession for
sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture goods to which a forged trade
mark was applied,” and for breach of condition of stay.
Yarte, 47, was
arrested by Customs officers on Jan 20 this year while manning a mobile hawker
stall on a footbridge outside Fairmont House on Cotton Tree Drive in Central.
The officers
seized two fake Gucci bags and five Gucci wallets on display in front of the
defendant. More counterfeit items were found in a bag beside her, including
eight wallets, 16 bags, basketball jersey and shorts, caps and T-shirts.
All the items
bore famous brand names and were worth a total of $1,170.
A plainclothes
officer saw Yarte at about 9:10am touting the goods to passersby. He also noticed
the bag that held the other counterfeit items.
A few minutes
later the officer approached Yarte then identified himself before arresting
her.
The prosecution
said Yarte had admitted to selling the goods for a Pakistani man who paid her $100
a day but whose telephone number she did not know.
She admitted to
the arresting officer that she knew the goods were fake and that she was a
domestic helper.
Immigration
records showed Yarte had a working visa valid until Jun 6, 2020.
In mitigation,
Yarte’s lawyer said she augmented her salary with income from selling the goods
to support her family in the Philippines.
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