The SUN HK : Penalty set by law insufficient for Filipina’s crime

28 December 2023

The principal magistrate said the prescribed penalty for the crime is insufficient

A Filipina may have thought that reporting to police a crime that never happened was a minor offense. After all, the Police Force Ordinance sets a maximum penalty of a fine of $2,000 and imprisonment of not more than six months.

Soledad Solomon, 54 years old and a resident, pleaded guilty at the Eastern Court today to the charge of making a false report of commission of an offense on Dec. 13, 2022.

PINDUTIN
PARA SA DETALYE

But Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui said Solomon’s offense was so serious that the penalty specified by the law is “not strong enough” as a deterrent to similar offenses in the future.

She said Solomon’s false report caused the police to waste so much time and resources that would have been spent more productively in fighting crime.

So instead of following the penalty schedule set by the ordinance, Magistrate Chui ordered reports done on Solomon by a probationary officer and a community service officer to determine the more appropriate punishment for her.

DETALYE

Court documents said Solomon went to the Wanchai Police Station on Arsenal Street to report to Detective Police Constable Tony Chan that someone entered their house in Moreton Terrace, Causeway Bay, and stole her bag containing $35,000 worth of foreign currency and $2,000 in Hong Kong bills.

She also told the police investigator that her son recovered the bag later from a garbage bin, but without the contents.

When investigators checked the CCTV at the lobby of the floor where their flat was located, the video footage showed only her and her son leaving and entering the flat the whole night.