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| Among the items Tagulao stole from her employer was a Piaget necklace worth $250k (for illustration only) |
A Filipina domestic helper has admitted stealing assorted jewelry
pieces worth a total of $543,000 from her female employer for whom she had
worked for 11 years.
Marie Tagulao, 41, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of theft
before Magistrate Bina Chainrai in Eastern
Court
The magistrate set the sentencing in her court on Aug. 25,
despite a request from the prosecution that the case be moved to a higher court
due to the large value of the loot.
The government lawyer said theft cases involving $250,000 to
$1 million call for a 3-year sentence, which could only be imposed by a higher
court, but the magistrate declined the request.
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A police report shows Tagulao stole 11 pieces of expensive
jewelry belonging to Yuen Lai-ka in the employer’s house on Big Wave Bay Rd
She managed to pawn the stolen items in five pawnshops
before she was arrested.
The stolen jewelry items were: one Piaget necklace worth
$250,000; one diamond brooch valued at $20,000; a pair of pearl earrings worth
$30,000; a pair of diamond earrings valued at $60,000; one sapphire necklace
worth $10,000; one Bulgari necklace valued at $10,000; a pair of rose pattern
earrings worth $3,000; one necklace with a diamond cross pendant worth $3,000;
a pair of diamond and pearl earrings valued at $4,000; one 18-karat gold
necklace worth $3,000, and one black watch worth $150,000.
The prosecutor said the Bulgari necklace, the necklace with
a diamond cross pendant, the gold necklace and the watch were recovered from
the pawnshops, but the rest of the items were gone.
The defense lawyer, begging for leniency, said Tagulao
apologized for the offense, explaining that her family’s house and farm were
damaged during a typhoon and needed to be repaired.
Magistrate Chainrai asked for a background report and
ordered Tagulao remanded in custody before her sentencing.
