The SUN HK : Filipina who took out loan after being fired gets 3 months’ jail

By Daisy CL Mandap

The Filipina says she did not realize it was wrong to obtain a loan after being fired from work

A Filipina domestic helper could have gotten away with taking out a $20,000 loan from a financing company despite her being terminated, had her friend who split the money with her paid her share of the proceeds.

But because no monthly repayment was ever made for the loan with Prime Credit, Lanie B. del Mundo who was listed as borrower, was arrested as soon as she returned to Hong Kong on Feb. 1 this year.

This was according to Del Mundo’s lawyer who asked Eastern Court magistrate Lam Tsz Kwan to impose a lenient sentence on the Filipina, saying she has now lost her job, and “it’s very likely” that she will not be able to work in Hong Kong again because of her criminal record.

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Del Mundo, who is 36 and has two teenage children in the Philippines, pleaded guilty to fraud when she appeared in court, and said she “absolutely regretted” having committed the offence.

However, the defense lawyer said Del Mundo did not intend to deceive the financing company, she just didn’t know that she could not have taken out a loan if she was out of work.

According to the lawyer, a friend had asked Del Mundo to apply for a loan on her behalf as she was not yet qualified to do this herself, having been in Hong Kong for only a month.

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Del Mundo applied for a $20,000 loan – which was to have been split equally with her friend - two days after her employer had fired her on Aug. 20 last year, which meant she only had 14 days to remain in Hong Kong.

“She thought she could get a new employer soon,” said her lawyer. “She did not realize the consequences of her action.”

Del Mundo was not able to find a new employer immediately and had to go home. In the meantime, her unnamed friend who was in court today to show support, did not pay her share of the monthly repayment for the loan, leading to the discovery of the fraud.

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The defendant eventually managed to find a new employer, and had come here on Feb 1 this year to take up the job, but she was arrested on her arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport.

She was charged with fraud for having obtained a loan from PrimeCredit Limited on Aug 23, 2022 at its office in Euro Trade Centre in Central, “by falsely representing” that her employment contract was still valid.

In mitigation, her lawyer said Del Mundo had a clear record. She first came to Hong Kong in 2019 and had finished her first contract, but was terminated a year later.

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She had written a letter to the magistrate to ask for leniency, saying she now realizes she made a big mistake, and did not wish her children to follow her example.

However, as she was jobless she could not repay her outstanding loan with Prime, which amounted to already more than $21,500 with interest.

Her lawyer asked for a more lenient sentence, saying the case did not involve the use of forged document or any other fraudulent means as what happens in more serious cases.