Filipina in theft-robbery case to be heard next year

 

Quarry Bay street where theft from a car happened (Google Maps photo) 

A theft case that dates back to 2022 involving a Filipina and two fellow asylum seekers, has been consolidated with a newer case where both her co-accused are facing a robbery charge, and scheduled for trial at the District Court in September next year.

Cheryl de Vera, 40 years old, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing, together with Sidhu Brar Gurmuk Singh, 30 years old, an Octopus card and $600 cash from a car parked in front of Showboat Mansion in Quarry Bay on Aug. 28, 2022.Another man, Gursewak Singh, 30 years old, was added in the consolidated case.

The robbery charge, on the other hand, names both men as having stripped 74-year-old Tsui Tai-on of a waist bag with a HKID, senior ID, a house key, Octopus card, mobile phone and $16,000 in cash in the early hours of the same day in Kowloon City.

Basahin ang detalye!

District Judge W.K. Kwok scheduled a pre-trial review for May 8 next year, and a seven-day trial starting on Sept. 8.

He ordered de Vera and Sidhu freed on bail of $2,000 and remanded Gursewak in jail custody.

Newspaper reports at the time said two men approached the elderly cardboard collector as she sat at about 3am on a flight of stairs outside Kowloon City Plaza at the junction of Lion Rock Road and Carpenter Road in Kowloon City, and was sorting used carton boxes she had collected.

One of them reportedly sat next to the victim and talked to her before stealing her waist bag while the other approached from behind and covered her mouth to prevent her from shouting.

Reports later said one suspect was arrested in connection with the case on Sept. 2.

A theft charge was filed against de Vera and Sidhu while Gursewak was still at large. After Gursewak was arrested, a separate case of robbery was filed against him and Sidhu.

This is not the first time that a trial was scheduled when this was originally a theft case. 

Last Jan. 30, District Judge CP Pang set a five-day trial from Jan. 13 next year, with a pre-trial review scheduled for Dec. 5, 2024. These court dates have since been cancelled.