By Vir B. Lumicao
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| A gold ring and a bracelet stolen by the helper could no longer be recovered |
A 52-year-old Filipina domestic helper was jailed four months today, Nov 29, after she admitted to stealing $35,000 worth of gold ornaments from her female employer over nearly two years, and replacing them with fake look-alike items.
The defendant, Evangelina D. Rodas, admitted before Shatin Magistrate Jason Wan that she stole the items, and said it was because she needed money for the medication of her son, who was infected with Covid-19.
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But the magistrate said the offense Rodas committed was very serious breach of trust, as it was made worse by her replacing the stolen property with fake jewelry to try and hide the crime.
The stolen items were two pairs of earrings valued at $1,000 per pair, one gold ring valued at $3,000, one gold necklace valued at $20,000 and one gold bracelet, valued at $10,000. The ring and the bracelet were not recovered.
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The prosecution said the theft happened between November 2019 and Oct 28 this year in the employer’s house in Fai Shing House, May Shing Court, Tai Wai, Shatin.
Employer Kung Pui-ying, a bank manager, was reportedly organizing the master bedroom around 2pm on Oct 28 when she discovered that the accessories were missing from the unlocked drawer where she had placed them.
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Instead, she found in the drawer fake jewelry pieces that were different in texture and material from the missing ones, although their designs were slightly similar. The employer reported the case.
Police searched the house and found four pawnshop receipts in the pocket of a brown jacket belonging to Rodas. The helper was promptly arrested and held without bail.
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The prosecutor said not all of the pieces of jewelry were recovered and the employer had to pay the pawnshop to redeem the items.
In mitigation, the defense counsel said his client admitted she had stolen the property out of greed and that she needed money to get her sick son treated.
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He said Kung hired the defendant as a domestic helper through an employment agency in January 2018 to work at the employer’s home. They maintained a fair relationship, the lawyer said.
Magistrate Wan said he had considered the facts of the case and the defense mitigation. He said this was not just an ordinary breach of trust because of the use of fake jewelry to cover up the theft.
He said the appropriate sentence was six months, but the defendant would be a given a one-third discount for her guilty plea.
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