Theft of 18 packs of chocolates leads to Filipina being fined $1,500

 

The theft happened at the Wellcome store in this building

She may not have realized it then, but her foolhardy attempt to sneak out of a Wellcome supermarket with 18 packs of chocolate she didn’t pay for could have just cost a Filipina domestic helper her job.

She also ended up paying a fine that cost far more than the total value of the goods she had tried to shoplift. 

J.M. Munsayac pleaded guilty to one count of theft when she appeared before Magistrate Ivy Chui at Eastern Court earlier today, and was promptly ordered to pay a fine of  $1,500. As she had posted $500 for her bail, she needed to just pay the court the remaining $1,000 within the day.

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The charge against her stemmed from her having been caught outside a Wellcome store in Pearl City Mansion in Causeway Bay on Oct 12 with the 18 packs of chocolate inside her shopping bag, and no receipt to show they had been paid for.

According to the agreed facts, a staff member of the grocery  store noticed Munsayac acting suspiciously at about 9am that day, so he followed her around. He subsequently saw her stuffing the chocolate packs inside her shopping bag, and then left without paying for them.

The staff member continued following Munsayac and as soon as she stepped out of the store at 9:21am she was stopped and searched.

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At the police station she admitted stealing the chocolates and said they were for her own consumption. CCTV footage taken inside the store also showed Munsayac taking the chocolates and then leaving without paying for them.

In mitigation, her lawyer asked for leniency, citing the defendant’s clear record and her decision to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. He also pointed out that the grocery chain suffered no financial loss.

The magistrate said she took note of all of these mitigating factors before deciding to impose a financial penalty on the defendant.

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Munsayac is said to help support her elderly parents and three sisters back in the Philippines. Her employer has retained her even after learning about the shoplifting charge.

However, with a criminal record in her name, there is now doubt that the Immigration Department would allow her to process a new employment contract, as what happened in similar cases in the past.

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Man who threatened to burn Consulate gets 2nd jail term in 6 months

 

Bondoc's Faceboook profile photo  

It was a case of “he said, she said” -- common in domestic violence where no other witness is present -- when Filipino Ronald Bondoc was tried at Eastern Court today, charged with beating up his live-in partner Karla Gonzales and threatening her with a knife.

In their testimonies, Gonzales described how she was slapped on the face, grabbed by the arms and kicked on the legs by Bondoc in waves of attack from 1 to 2 am last Oct. 2.

When it was his turn to testify, Bondoc insisted that he never hurt Gonzales, instead telling her to leave the house so they would stop quarrelling. He added that he lay in bed facing the wall when she left so he would not see her leaving, and suggested that her injuries -- certified by doctors at Ruttonjee Hospital as painful upper back, as well as bruises on upper arms, knees and legs -- were self-inflicted.

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But Magistrate Jeffrey Sze gave more weight to the testimony of Bondoc’s accuser and declared him guilty in both cases, sentencing him to a combined four months in jail -- three months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, plus one month taken from his six-week penalty for criminal intimidation.

This came just six months after he walked out of jail after finishing a 10-week sentence for threatening to burn the Philippine Consulate, criminal intimidation of its staff and loitering, in a case that concluded with his conviction on April 3.

“I saw her as an honest and reliable witness,” Magistrate Sze described Gonzales.

He added that he did not find Bondoc honest and reliable; he created new narratives as he went along and was unrepentant.

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Gonzales’ story began at past midnight of Oct. 2 in their subdivided flat on Jardine’s Crescent in Causeway Bay, when she and Bondoc argued over his having an affair. 

She said the argument led to Bondoc slapping her, and for about an hour he occasionally grabbed her arms and kicked her on the legs. During this time, she said she called the police but was answered by a voice mail.

In the cross examination, the defense lawyer asked Gonzales why she did not call 999, a well-known emergency number, but she said the number she dialed was given to her by police when they were investigating Bondoc about the earlier case when he threatened to burn the consulate.

Gonzales testified that she was able to leave their house at 2:30am, and went to the flat of a friend where she spent the night. She went to the hospital the next day, complaining of body pains and fever. She received treatment and a medical certificate and was referred to a police outpost in the hospital.

After she made her statement to the police, Bondoc was arrested.

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For his part, Bondoc described his relationship with Gonzales as “heaven” until after she gave birth to their second child last March. She became possessive and suspicious, and even installed a spying app in his phone to listen in on his conversations, he said.             

 “I never assaulted my wife,” he testified several times.

He tripped when Magistrate Sze asked him about the two hours before the assault, when he returned to the house after going out for 45 minutes to withdraw money and see a friend  in Sheung Wan.

He said an angry Gonzales was waiting in the alley leading to their building’s entrance, and confiscated his mobile phone. She went back home and he stayed outside to go to a nearby Circle K store to pay his rent through his landlord’s Paypal account.

When asked by Sze how this was done, Bondoc said the store would scan his landlord’s QR code from his phone, and he would pay in cash. When Sze reminded him that Gonzales had taken his phone home, he explained that he got it back from her for the Circle K transaction and returned it to her before she went home.

After his conviction, Bondoc’s lawyer asked for the magistrate’s mercy, saying he had suffered enough because he had lost his job, and has given up his home because he had not paid his rent for the two months he had been held in detention after his arrest.

“His marriage is practically over,” the lawyer added.

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Filipina jailed 6 months for twice submitting fake employment contracts

 

The Filipina admitted submitting 2 fake FDH contracts

A Filipina domestic worker who pleaded guilty to conspiring with another to submit two successive fake employment contracts to the Immigration Department was today sentenced to a total of six months’ imprisonment at Shatin Court.

Remelyn L. Edra, 38 years old, admitted two counts of conspiracy to defraud when she appeared before Magistrate Amy Chan.

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In the first charge, Edra is accused of conspiring with Kathleen Emily Vizcarra between December 2021 and March 14, 2022 to defraud the Director of Immigration and his officers by pretending to enter into a foreign domestic helper with Zheng Jiarao.

Edra was allowed to enter and remain in Hong Kong on this basis.

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Following this, Edra again conspired with Viscarra between March 2022 and Feb 18, 2023, to pretend that she was entering into a FDH contract with Kwok Ka Lai. Again, Edra was allowed to remain in Hong Kong because of this false pretense.

The said acts are said to be contrary to Common Law and sections 2(3) and 4(2) of the Criminal Jurisdiction Ordinance, Cap 461, for which the maximum penalty is 14 months’ imprisonment.

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Magistrate Chan imposed a sentence of four months in jail for each of the two charges, with two months in the second charge to run consecutive to the penalty for the first charge.

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Filipina DH denies stealing co-worker’s gold bracelets

West Kowloon Courts

A Filipina domestic helper pleaded not guilty today at West Kowloon Court to stealing two gold bracelets, valued at a total of $7,500, claiming she was framed.

The plea by Michelle Lamparas, 39 years old, set in motion a trial that will begin on Dec. 19, in which the prosecution said they will present five witnesses.

Lamparas was one of two Filipinos who faced theft charges today at West Kowloon Court.

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She was charged after a black bag containing a gold bracelet worth $1,500 and another worth $6,000, both belonging to fellow helper Analyn Magbutay, was found among her belongings when these were inspected by her employer.

The incident took place inside the employer’s house in Merlin Court, Sham Shui Po, last Oct. 13.

Asked by Principal Magistrate Don So what the defense will be, Lamparas’ lawyer said the Filipina was not the one who packed her belongings after she was terminated by her employer because she did not get along with a fellow helper.

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He suggested that one of the prosecution witnesses may have planted the black bag in her belongings.

When Magistrate So asked for more details, the lawyer said he was not at liberty to disclose any more information.

The lawyer also offered a cash bail of $500 for the temporary release of Lamparas, with conditions such as not leaving Hong Kong because she has lost her passport, and reporting daily to the Tsim Shat Shui police station.

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But the prosecutor objected to the offer, saying the evidence against her was strong.

So agreed with the prosecution and sent Lamparas back to jail to await her trial.

In the other theft case, So adjourned the hearing against A. Pascual, 31 years old and unemployed, because she was being treated in a hospital for an unspecified ailment.

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Pascual was accused of shoplifting three bottles of drinks, three packs of candy, two packs of almonds, one box of cotton swab, and one bottle of sterilizing spray, worth a total of $105, from the Wellcome Supermarket in Hoi Fu Shopping Center in Mong Kok, Kowloon, last Oct. 14.

Magistrate So extended the terms of her $5,000 bail until the next hearing on Dec. 11. 

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Pilipina at hawak na sanggol, sugatan matapos tumalsik sa kotse

 

Tolo Highway

Dapat ay naka-seatbelt ang lahat ng pasahero sa kotse kapag ito ay umaandar, kahit nasa likurang upuan sila nakaupo.

Ito ang naging aral para sa isang 28 taong gulang na Pilipina na tumalsik kahapon, kasama ang alagang 8 buwan lang, mula sa kotseng minamaneho ng kanyang amo nang mawalan ito ng kontrol sa sasakyan at sumalpok sa isang road divider sa Tolo Highway sa Tai Po.

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Ang dahilan ay hindi naka-seatbelt ang Pilipina, na nasa likurang upuan at kalong ang sanggol, nang  tumalsik palabas matapos bumukas ang kaliwang pinto sa tabi niya. 

Kasalukuyan pa ring nasa kritikal na kalagayan ang sanggol samantalang nilista naman na "serious" ang kalagayan ng Pilipina kagabi.

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Ayon sa report, sandaling nahilo ang hindi-pinangalanang Pilipina matapos ang aksidente at nasugatan sa ulo, braso at binti. 

Pero ang bata, na nasugatan sa dibdib, ulo at braso at itinakbo sa ospital na may neck brace, ay inireport kanina na nasa kritikal na kondisyon sa Prince of Wales Hospital.

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Ayon sa HK Police, may isa pang Pilipina na sakay ng kotse, na 27 taong gulang naman. Dinala siya at ang among lalaki na nagmamaneho ng sasakyan sa Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital sa Tai Po.

Samantala, sa Prince of Wales Hospital sa Shatin naman itinakbo ang sanggol, ang kanyang yaya at ina na 32 taong gulang, at nagreklamong masakit ang dibdib.

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Kinasuhan kanina ng pulis ang among lalaki na 52 taong gulang, at nakatakdang bumalik sa korte sa Enero.

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Balladares re-elected as Unifil chair as Villanueva bows out after 25 years

 

Unifil's new ExeCom led by Balladares take oath before Migrante International's Ramon Bultron

After five years, United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante HK) held its annual congress again, and re-elected Dolores Balladares as chairperson for the 19^th straight year.

At the same time, Eman Villanueva, who was first elected as Unifil’s secretary-general in 1998, begged off from serving another term, thus ending 25 years of serving as a leader of one of the oldest migrant workers’ groups in Hong Kong.

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However, Villanueva will still head Bayan Hong Kong and Macau, an equally militant migrant workers’ organization in Hong Kong.

Villanueva served as Unifil's SecGen from 1998 to 2023

The changing of the guards at the biggest and most active Filipino community groups in Hong Kong took place yesterday, Nov. 26, at Wesleyan House in Wanchai, with about 200 members from 34 affiliate organizations in attendance.

Balladares was elected unopposed, along with current vice-chair Shiela Tebia from Gabriela Hong Kong.

The three other members of Unifil’s executive committee were also unopposed and will serve as officers for the first time: Lia Quirante of Mission Movers, who replaced Villanueva; Mimi Ysulat of Filipino Migrants Association as deputy secretary general, and Ivy Alamid of Filipino Lesbian Organization as treasurer.

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The new officers will serve for the next three years, or until 2026. They took their oath before Ramon Bultron, deputy secretary general of Migrante International and general manager of Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants.

Unifil last held its annual general assembly in 2018, in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests across Hong Kong, and shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic wrought havoc all over the world.

But despite the severe pandemic restrictions and a slowdown in most outdoor activities, Unifil continued many of its activities, albeit in smaller numbers, including the yearly demand for an increase in the minimum wage of migrant domestic workers.

About 200 representatives of 34 affiliate organizations took part in the 17th Congress

In her five-year report, Balladares noted that Unifil continued to wage a campaign against exactions by the Philippine government on MDWs; the illegal collection of fees, illegal recruitment and trafficking by employment agencies; and such national issues as human rights violations, corruption, and opposition to the return to power of the Marcos family.

Together with other migrant-serving organizations like the Mission for Migrant Workers and Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, Unifil also extended help to Covid-stricken Filipinos during the most severe pandemic-related restrictions imposed by the HK government.

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Balladares also listed among Unifil’s accomplishments in the past five years its successful campaign to stop the collection of higher government fees such as Pag-IBIG and PhilHealth contributions in the Philippines as well as its stringent opposition to allegations of job-hopping of MDWs in Hong Kong.

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With membership fees being suspended during the past five years, Unifil incurred a slight deficit, with a big part of its funds being used for Covid-related assistance and relief operations for victims of typhoons and other natural disasters in the Philippines.

However, due to its savings from past years, the organization has managed to retain some funds in the bank.

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