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| The case was heard at Eastern Court |
A Filipina detained for ill-treatment or neglect of two children and possessing drug paraphernalia in a rented room in Wanchai where she was arrested, was denied bail when she appeared Friday, Apr 8, at the Eastern Magistracy.
Mari Manrique, 38, had offered through her lawyer to post a bail of $700 for her temporary release, with the promise that she would enter a drug detox program registered with the Welfare Department, report to police daily and not leave Hong Kong until the case is resolved.
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But the prosecutor objected to Manrique’s request, citing the serious nature of the charges and the risks that her release would entail.
Police had filed three charges against her:
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- Ill treatment or neglect of child aged three years on Sept. 29, 2021.
- Ill treatment or neglect of baby aged 40 days on Feb. 9, 2022.
- Possession of a glass bottle with two openings, one of which was connected to a plastic tube containing traces of methampethamine, and a plastic straw containing traces of methampethamine on Oct 8. 2021.
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The prosecutor, for example, cited Manrique’s drug problem which had affected the baby, who tested positive for methampethamine.
Manrique’s lawyer replied that she was taking a detox program from Dec. 21 2021 to Feb. 22, 2022 when she was arrested by police for the ill-treatment of the baby
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The baby’s contamination could have been due to Manrique’s body not being fully free of drugs by then, the lawyer explained.
Manrique also jumped bail when she was facing another case between 2018 and 2019.
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The prosecutor also had a previous conviction in a case not similar to the case she now faces.
“Bail is refused,” Magistrate Jason Wan siu-ming decided, citing the seriousness of the offense and that the case against Manrique is strong.
He adjourned the case to May 5.
