The SUN HK : Filipino who threatened to burn down Consulate convicted on 3 charges

By Daisy CL Mandap

Bondoc was taken into custody ahead of his sentencing on April 3

Security was tight inside court no 4 at Eastern Magistracy on Monday as a Filipino resident who threatened to burn down the Consulate, assaulted one of its staff and intimidated a security personnel, was immediately put behind bars after being found guilty on three charges.

Ronald B. Bondoc, 42, a restaurant worker, will be sentenced on April 3, after background reports are submitted to court on orders of Magistrate Leona Chan Pui-man.

The magistrate held that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt all three cases of criminal intimidation, common assault and loitering causing concern that were brought against Bondoc.

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She also found that the three Consulate staff who were presented as prosecution witnesses were honest and credible.

In contrast, Bondoc who defended himself after rejecting the services of a counsel from the Duty Lawyer scheme, was found to have given excuses that were hard to believe.

In the first case of criminal intimidation, Bondoc called the Consulate hotline on January 22 last year, during which he repeatedly threatened to burn down the Consulate offices and hurt its staff, particularly “Arnel.”

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The call was recorded by the staff on duty Lhyndzie M. Orozco, who testified in court how Bondoc’s threat had so alarmed her that she reported it to her superior the very next day.

In turn, the officer personally went to the police to file a complaint and hand over a copy of the audio recording of Bondoc’s call. This came after Bondoc visited the Consulate and assaulted one of the staff there

In his defense, Bondoc said he made the call only because he was distressed and suicidal as the Consulate did not allow him to change his status to “single” in his passport even if he had already separated from his wife.

He also said it was not his intention to intimidate Orozco as he was only after Arnel. In fact, he said he repeatedly apologized to Orozco for getting her involved. He also questioned why it took the Consulate three days to complain to police.

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In rejecting his defence, Magistrate Chan said, “I do not believe that he had called merely to seek help from the Consulate,” noting that Bondoc repeatedly threatened to burn down the Consulate offices and harm its staff, particularly “Arnel” during the phone call.

Among the threats he made were:

“If you want me to go there, Miss, I will set the office on fire.”

“You will be a witness to what I am saying now.”

“Leave that place, the day will come when it will be burned down.”

“The Consulate will be burned one of these days”

“Will you be one of them if you don’t say this to Arnel?”

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Magistrate Chan said Bondoc’s words were calculated to cause concern to anyone who might have heard them. She also said it was immaterial that the Consulate filed a complaint with the police three days after the incident.

In the second charge of common assault which happened two days after the phone call, the magistrate said she believed the victim, Edmound Cortes, when he told the court that Bondoc had held him by the neck when he stopped him entering a restricted area in the Consulate.

At that time, Bondoc held a golf club in one hand and his baby on the other. Video recordings of the incident showed him entering the public area and passing on his baby to a Filipina in the crowd, before attempting to move towards the assistance to nationals section.

Cortes said he pushed Bondoc away after he tried to strangle him as the defendant was still holding the golf club. Other male staff came to his rescue, and one of them was seen on video to have kicked Bondoc on the back.

The magistrate said the video recording of the incident confirmed Cortes’ story. She also said the kick on Bondoc’s back was made after that assault, so his claim that he was actually the victim in the incident could not be true.

Further, she noted that by passing on his baby to another person before making a move, Bondoc showed an intent “to do some action.”

For the third charge of loitering causing concern, the magistrate said a video recording of the incident on March 28, 2022 showed clearly that Bondoc had hung around the Consulate’s lift lobby for 15 minutes doing nothing except to go in circles.

Before this, he approached the CCTV and showed a metal angle bar he was carrying, which he then proceeded to put down on the table of the security officer just before the entrance to the Consulate, but made no move to enter.

Two Consulate staff were also seen to approach Bondoc but he did not engage them in a conversation. After about two minutes, ambulancemen arrived, followed by police officers, and they took Bondoc away.

The magistrate said all these events belied Bondoc’s claim that he had gone there to ask for a copy of the CCTV of the Feb 24 incident. If this was true, he would have asked the security guard or the staff who approached him if he could enter.

Instead, he merely walked around with no discernible purpose, leading the magistrate to conclude that Bondoc’s real intention at that time was to cause concern to the guard and the other people in the area.

Ahead of the sentencing, the prosecution told the magistrate that the defendant had a clear record.