By Vir B. Lumicao
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| It is an offence to keep someone else's HKID card without authority or reasonable excuse |
A Filipina domestic helper who should be working by now for a new employer is in jail after she was found in possession of the Hong Kong ID card of her friend who has returned home.
M.K. Maing appeared last Tuesday before Magistrate Peter Law
in
Maing has been in police custody since May 12, when she was arrested during a spot check after officers found two HKID cards in her wallet, the one issued to her by the Immigration Department and another belonging to her friend.
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The police also discovered that her employment visa had already expired.
However, Edwina Antonio of the
But because of her arrest, the would-be employer has backed out.
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Antonio said Maing’s case should serve as a lesson to others not to keep someone else’s HK ID card for whatever reason.
“Kaya dapat malaman ng mga kababayan natin na hindi nila dapat itinatago ang HKID ng kapwa worker na napupulot nila dahil labag sa batas iyon,” said Antonio. (That’s why our fellow Filipinos should know that it is against the law to keep the HKID of their fellow workers that they find.)
Antonio said when a worker finds a lost HKID or Octopus card on the street, on public transports such as the MTR or buses, the first thing to do is to turn it over to the police as soon as possible.
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They can also turn the HKID card to the Consulate or to Hong Kong Immigration as soon as possible, she said.
“Huwag na huwag nilang itago ang napupulot nilang HKID o Octopus card ng iba dahil magkakaproblema sila, tulad nitong kababayan natin,” Antonio said. (They must never keep any HKID card or Octopus card of other persons that they find because if these were found in their possession, they will have a problem, like our compatriot.)
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| Antonio says anyone who finds a HKID should turn it over to the police at once |
Under the Registration of Persons Ordinance, any person without lawful authority or reasonable excuse who keeps or possesses an identity card issued to another person could be liable to a maximum penalty of $100,000 fine and imprisonment for 10 years.
Maing remains in custody because her offer to post bail for $1,200 was rejected by the magistrate after the prosecution objected, citing the seriousness of the allegation against her and her lack of local ties.
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Antonio, who also manages the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, said she offered the shelter as Maing’s address while on bail, but the duty lawyer forgot to mention this to the magistrate.
As a result, the helper was remanded in custody, but at the magistrate’s advice, is set to return to court this coming Tuesday to re-file her bail application.
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