 |
| Morado paid for a food item she took from this M&S branch, but not for the pants and underwear in her trolley |
A Filipina domestic worker who was earning $10,000 a month was
fined $2,000 today, Aug 11, after she pleaded guilty to a charge of theft before
Eastern Court Magistrate Bina Chainrai.
C. Morado, 45, admitted stealing two pairs of trousers and
two packs of underwear from a Marks & Spencer shop on the ground floor of Central Tower
The defense had tried to work out a bindover deal for
Morado, which would have meant her not getting any criminal record, but the
prosecution objected.
The Filipina was accompanied to court by her supportive
employer, for whom she had reportedly worked for 11 years.
Court records show that Morado went to the shop between
1:22pm and 1:33pm on Apr 15 and took from the rack the two pairs of pants and
the underwear packs and put these in her blue trolley.
She then moved to another section where she took some food
items, before going to the cashier where she paid only for the food pack.
A guard at the shop who saw Morado put the clothing in her
trolley stopped her as she left the shop and called police. The unpaid items,
valued a total of $1,336, were recovered.
Morado told police then that she forgot about the other
items in her trolley. But in court, she pleaded guilty to the theft charge.
As the defendant wiped off tears, her lawyer said in
mitigation that the Filipina was the sole breadwinner of her 3-year-old son and
55-year-old mother back home.
She had been working for the past 11 years for the same
employer who considered her part of the family, the lawyer said.
The lawyer said this was the defendant’s first offense, for
which she was very remorseful. He begged for a lenient sentence such as a fine,
and the magistrate agreed.
