 |
| The Filipina OS is charged with having ice and pipes for inhaling it in her possession |
Two
Filipinos were each charged with drug-related offences when they appeared
before Magistrate Minnie Wat at Eastern Court earlier today, Nov. 3.
Thelma
Antonio Lobo, 57, a former domestic worker, faced one count each of drug
trafficking, drug possession, possession of two pieces of apparatus fit for drug
inhalation and violating her visa condition by overstaying.
All
of the charges were filed after her arrest on May 31, 2023 in a room on the
third floor of no 12 Tit Hong Lane in Central.
In
the second case, 25-year-old K. Aguila, a cashier at a fastfood chain, pleaded
guilty to possessing .11 grams of methampethamine hydrochloride or “ice” (shabu
in the Philippines) and will be sentenced after a probation report is submitted
to court.
According
to the charge sheet in Lobo's case, she had already overstayed her visa for nine and a half
years when she was arrested. She arrived in Hong Kong as a domestic
helper and should have left on Nov. 26, 2013 but stayed on until her arrest in
May.
The
first charge of drug trafficking stemmed from her allegedly having 5.48 grams
of ice in her possession when she was arrested.
In
addition, she was charged with drug possession because of a separate amount of
0.39 grams of ice that was also allegedly found on her.
The
last charge was in relation to two segments of a plastic tube intended for drug
inhalation that was also found in her possession.
Because
of the seriousness of the charges, Lobo’s case was elevated to the District
Court, where she is set to make her plea on Nov. 23. She was sent back to jail
until then.
In
the case of Aguila, the drugs were found in a bag he was carrying at Exit A4 of
the Wanchai MTR station during a routine check on Sept. 5, 2023.
He
immediately pleaded guilty when he appeared in court, and his counsel provided
by the Duty Lawyer service asked for a lenient sentence on his behalf.
The
lawyer said Aguila came to work as a dependant in 2015 and was working in a
fast-food chain where he earned $12,000 a month. He sent nearly half of this,
or $5,000, to his parents who both in their 60s and are living in the
Philippines.
Aguila
had a clear record and said he was willing to take a drug test to show that he
was not dependent on any prohibited substance. He said he was enticed to try
the drug by an acquaintance he could no longer contact.
His
office manager showed up in court, along with some friends, to show support for
Aguila.
Magistrate
Wat said she was taking note of the defendant’s clear record, his assurance
that he was not a drug dependent, and the small quantity of the drugs involved
in determining the appropriate sentence.
She
set the sentencing after six weeks, or on Dec. 15, pending the submission of a
probation report and the result of a urine test to be conducted on Aguilar.
Until
then the magistrate said “all sentencing options are open.”
.jpg)
