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| Filipina was arrested at dawn in this neighborhood. |
A homeless former domestic helper who had been in jail for three months on charges of stealing an Octopus card with a stored value of $70 and overstaying her visa, was sentenced yesterday (Feb. 21) to a total of three days in prison.
Magistrate Li Chi-ho penalized F. Lacaba, 35 years old, with a one-day
prison term for the Octopus card theft and two days for overstaying, to be
served consecutively.
Lacaba was thus immediately released as her detention had exceeded her
actual sentence – a concern raised by her duty lawyer when she appeared in the previous
hearing at West Kowloon Court last Jan. 10.
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| Buksan ang mga tip |
Lacaba, homeless and sleeping
in a Sham Shui Po park since she was terminated by her employer on Sept. 24
last year, was arrested at 5:03 am last Nov. 23 after she was spotted by a
police officer on patrol on Yu Chao St., Sham Shui Po.
When the officers found a
personalized Octopus card in another person’s name among her possessions, they
arrested her and took her to the nearby police station.
She was convicted of the Octopus card theft after a trial, with Magistrate
Li rejecting her story that she had just picked up the card from the street and
was intending to turn it over to the Sham Shui Po MTR station, which was still
closed when she was arrested at about 5am.
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| TAWAG NA! |
The $70 value in the Octopus card was untouched.
In the previous hearing, she pleaded guilty to breach of condition of stay for
failing to leave within two weeks after she was terminated by her employer.
Lacaba was working as a
domestic helper whose contract began on April 15, 2023. However, her employer
terminated her five months after she started working.
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| PINDUTIN ITO |
She was unable to find a new
employer within the two weeks she was allowed to stay on, and had been sleeping
at a park at night when she was arrested.
Her lawyer said she did not
apply for bail because she had nowhere to stay.
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| PADALA NA! |
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| PRESS FOR DETAILS |
