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| The Filipinas were sentenced in Shatin magistracy by a District Court judge |
Two Filipina domestic workers who had earlier pleaded guilty
to conspiring to use forged documents in applying for a British work visa were
sentenced today, Aug 4, to six months and two weeks
in jail.
Criselda Bantasan, 33, and Cristy Par, 49, who had been out
on bail since they were brought to court, were immediately taken into custody.
Their lawyers had appealed for suspended sentences, citing
their guilty plea and their having helped investigators to arrest and prosecute
the alleged mastermind of the fake documents scam.
District Court Judge Li Chi-ho, who moved the sentencing to Shatin court, acknowledged
the evidence that the two Filipinas gave during the trial of the alleged
mastermind, a certain Ms Chan, in June.
But he pointed out that Chan was acquitted after the trial judge
expressed doubts about their evidence.
Solicitor Teddy Lam, defense counsel for Bantasan, pleaded in
the previous hearing for a lenient sentence for his client, citing the maid’s
inability to work for the past 18 months while the case was pending in the
courts.
Lam said his client was a victim who lost a fortune when she
applied for a job in Britain
Lawyer Vivian Chan also sought “the most lenient sentence” for
Par, so she could continue working for her employers and earn money to support
her parents.
Chan said her client’s employers, who had been attending the
hearings regularly, were willing to employ her again.
Judge Li cited two similar cases in which the judges had
adopted three years as starting point for the sentences. But in the case of
Bantasan and Par, the judge started off with a 13-month sentence, then halved
it after giving discounts for their guilty plea and mitigation.
After the judge left the courtroom, the two maids were
escorted by court security staff into
the dock, where their lawyers spoke with them for a while, before they were led
away.
The two had been released on bail since Feb 22, their second
appearance in court since their arrest in January 2018.
Bantasan was charged with conspiring with Chan to use forged
documents after she submitted on Apr 1, 2016, fake personal papers of her
employer to back her application for work visa at the UK Visa Application
Centre at Leighton Centre in Causeway
Bay
Par was also alleged to have conspired with Chan and other unknown persons to submit on May 30, 2016, copies of fake papers purportedly belonging to her employer to the UK VAC staff to support her visa application.
The British Consulate General reported the case to the police after discovering that the documents, including their employers’ bank statements and passport copies, that the pair submitted were spurious.
Par was also alleged to have conspired with Chan and other unknown persons to submit on May 30, 2016, copies of fake papers purportedly belonging to her employer to the UK VAC staff to support her visa application.
The British Consulate General reported the case to the police after discovering that the documents, including their employers’ bank statements and passport copies, that the pair submitted were spurious.
The documents were later found out to have been produced by
a syndicate in Manila
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