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| The accused admitted drug possession when she appeared at West Kowloon court |
A Filipina asylum seeker pleaded guilty today at West Kowloon Court to possession of dangerous drugs, but her sentence was withheld for two weeks so she could be examined to find out if she has become addicted.
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| I-CLICK DITO! |
He ordered a Drug Addiction Center report for Cereneo, and adjourned the case to Jan. 23.
He ordered her returned to jail custody.
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| PRESS FOR DETAILS |
A report from Mong Kok Police said Cereneo was arrested after a taxi she was riding in was stopped in a checkpoint on Dundas St., Mong Kok at 1:30am on Aug. 9, 2023.
She attracted the attention of police officers because she
was acting suspiciously. She was searched and police found two small plastic
bags containing 0.28 gram and 0.9 gram of cocaine, based on analysis conducted
by the government laboratory.
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| TAWAG NA! |
Her duty lawyer, in mitigation during the hearing, almost
got her in worse trouble when he said the drug was actually not hers, and that it
was given to her by a friend for safekeeping.
“You better rethink your mitigation,” interrupted Magistrate
Wan, saying this fact could mean she was engaged in drug trafficking, which is
a lot more serious than possession.
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| PINDUTIN |
The lawyer immediately withdrew his statement, and focused
on seeking a light penalty because Cereneo was remorseful and had pleaded
guilty at the earliest opportunity.
He said the Filipina arrived in Hong Kong in 2021 as a
domestic helper, but was later terminated. She has since applied for
non-refoulement, and now subsists on $1,100 allowance monthly from a non-government
organization.
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| PADALA NA! |
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