Filipina cleared of lying to Immigration, overstaying

The rare acquittal at Shatin court left the accused sobbing in relief 

A Filipina was acquitted today of lying to the Immigration Department and overstaying after evidence presented in a trial at Shatin Court showed that it was the employment agency that processed her papers that was to blame.

Mariza Tarray, 41, sobbed and hugged the Filipina court interpreter who was translating the court proceedings to her, after Deputy Magistrate Ivan Lee pronounced her not guilty of both charges.

 “The prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt,” he concluded.

“I find the defendant an honest and reliable witness,” he added.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Tarray’s story began after she finished a contract as a domestic helper and went to the Bandung Enterprises to find a new employer.

She was matched with an employer who lived in Wanchai.

However, when her papers were processed, she discovered that she was given an employer who lived in Tseung Kwan O, so she refused to work for her and complained against Bandung to the Labour Department and the Philippine Consulate.

Basahin ang detalye!

The agency staff found her another employer, but by then she had overstayed her visa without her knowledge.

It was while processing her new contract that Immigration officers discovered a letter to support her visa application, which said that her termination by the employer she refused to work for was Feb. 11, 2022 and that the previous date of Jan. 26, 2022 was not correct.

Tarray was thus charged with making a false representation in a document furnished to an Immigration officer, which violates the Immigration Ordinance.

And since Immigration had established that her real termination date was Jan. 26, 2022, she had overstayed her two-week automatic extension by the time she applied for a new visa on Feb. 17.

She was thus charged with breach of condition of stay, another violation of the Immigration Ordinance.

In his decision, Magistrate Lee cited a WhatsApp chat between Tarray and an employee of Bandung who assured her that they would take care of Immigration, and kept her ignorant of her Immigration status.

He also cited her complaints against Bandung at the Labor Department and the Philippine Consulate as indicator that she had no intention of violating Immigration laws.

Before Tarray left the court, an Immigration officer told her to go to their office to retrieve her passport.

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