Umela holds 14th graduation rites

 

Umela graduates and trainors are joined by their guests in a photo-op

Fifteen years into its existence and having gone through tough challenges posed by the pandemic, a migrant workers’ group specializing in providing massage training to their fellow domestic helpers in Hong Kong has again managed to hold a culmination and recognition rites for their graduates.

A total of 33 migrant domestic workers who completed the tough training given by United Migrants Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Association (Umela) were recognized at ceremonies held on Nov. 26 at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town.

The graduates who made up batches 56 to  59, were presented at Umela’s 14^th commencement exercises by founder and president Ofelia Baquirin before guests that included Vice Consul Angelo Manuel and Welfare Officer Marilou Sumalinog of the Consulate, as well as various business and community leaders.

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Umela’s training is made up of six months of lectures on four general  topics - basic anatomy, physiology, microbiology and pathology - followed by 72 hours of hands-on training in massage therapy and Swedish massage.

Completing the course qualifies one to take the NC2 examination administered by Technical Education and Skills Development Academy (Tesda) in the Philippines. If they pass, they become licensed massage therapists and can operate their own spa or massage clinic in the country.

Top 3 students Abala, Visperas and Agustin (R to L) are recognized

The graduation’s highlight was the surprise announcement of special awards to outstanding students.

Named most outstanding trainee was Aileen Q. Zabala, while Elena Agustin and Janice Visperas were tied for the merit award.

Visperas also won the leadership award while the entrepreneurship prize was given to Maria Luisa Almandrones.

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Three students were recognized in the hands-on category: Daisy D. Gum-o, Annalyn C. Picones and Susan T. Carig; while two – Reynalita A. Echan and Elena R. Lozano - were named best in clinical exercise.

Awarded for being most supportive was Ma Cristina Gonzales, most courageous was Lydia R. Caran, best in sportsmanship was Develyn M. Dacoco, while best in entertainment was Laarnie A. Jiquinto.

Among the guest speakers was Cynthia A. Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, who praised Umela’s painstaking work that has benefited many MDWs, and present certificates for a special session on pain management provided by Karl Zedwolfe Tellez and organized by the Mission.

Baquirin supervises the hands-on training of students in their secluded public space (File)

Umela is a regular participant in the Mission’s Care to Caregivers project and in other community events where its provides free massage to the public, and in particular to their fellow domestic workers.

The SUN editor Daisy CL Mandap, who is Umela’s adviser, cited Umela’s selfless work in providing training to MDWs even in the most difficult of times and places, particularly when pandemic restrictions made it extremely difficult for them to gather.

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But at the same time, she advised them to do their best to save enough money so they could go back home quickly, and enjoy a better quality of life.

“Hong Kong is not forever, especially for migrant workers,” Mandap said

(Those interested to join Umela’s next training session could send a message through WhatsApp at 69790766.)

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2 Filipinas, one aged 71, charged with submitting fake FDH contracts

 

Two Filipinas charged with using fake work contracts to get domestic helper visas, including one who is 71 years old, managed to get their cases postponed at Shatin Court yesterday because they were not defended by a lawyer.

But 71-year old Virginia Jovilla, and her co-accused Elynette Montalban, 43, were warned that they will have to enter a plea and their prosecution will proceed in the next hearing whether or not they have a lawyer.

Jovilla and Montalban each faces two charges of conspiracy to defraud for submitting fake work contracts to the Immigration Department and getting permission to stay in Hong Kong. 

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They waited in vain the whole morning for their cases to be called. Jovilla was called about 3pm, and Magistrate David Chum noted that she was not represented, although she was given a lawyer for free by the Duty Lawyer Service in the previous hearing.

“I was not informed that I would need a lawyer now,” she said. “I want to plead guilty but I think I need a lawyer now.”

Magistrate Chum stood down the case and allowed Jovilla to go to the Duty Lawyer Service office within the building.

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He then called Montalban, who was holding a baby and was also unrepresented.

She said he failed to get a duty lawyer because she was required to have a bank account, which she did not have because she had no Hong Kong ID.

Chum also stood down the case to allow Montalban to go to the Duty Lawyer office.

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When they came back, saying there were no lawyers available, Chum adjourned their cases separately.

He told them to come back on Jan. 16, extended their $1,000 bail with a new condition: that they will not leave Hong Kong while the case is pending.

Chum went the extra mile because as charged, the two were at risk of being imprisoned.

Jovilla faces two counts of conspiracy to defraud. She was accused of entering into two separate fake work contracts with Kung Yee-chee and Lee Wai-kong, with the help of agents Liu Chung-hang and Kathleen Vizcarra, which resulted in Immigration officers granting her permission to enter and remain in Hong Kong.

Montalban is charged with entering into a fake work contract with Tan Ka-ki with the help of the same agents and got a visa from Immigration, which it would not otherwise have granted.

Vizcarra was also named as co-conspirator of two Filipinas who admitted submitting two fake employment contracts in succession, which resulted in them being sentenced on Tuesday to six months in jail after pleading guilty to the charges.

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Filipino in Chater Rd assault case told to make sure he gets a lawyer

 

The bus stop on the left side of Chater Road was where the alleged assault happened

A bar tender accused of assaulting a fellow Filipino was today given a final warning by a magistrate to make sure he has a lawyer to defend him when he appears in court, otherwise the case will proceed without him benefiting from the Duty Lawyer Service.

Mark Anthony Malunao was told this after the prosecutor relayed his request to Eastern Court Magistrate Ivy Chui for another adjournment so he could ask for further legal advice.

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In reply, Magistrate Chui said Malunao had already been told the last time he was in court that he could no longer seek a further adjournment as the case had already dragged on.

But after being told that the defendant did not get to talk again to the counsel who represented him then, the magistrate relented, and reset the hearing of the case on Jan. 11, 2024, or after six weeks. 

Malunao's bail of $500 was extended until then.

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The magistrate proceeded to give detailed instructions to Malunao to renew his bail, then go up to the 7^th floor of Eastern Court where the Duty Lawyer Scheme has an office, and make sure he gets representation at the next hearing date, when he would be expected to enter a plea.

“Should you still fail to get legal representation the next time you come here, you will not be granted a further adjournment,” warned Chui.

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Malunao is charged with common assault for allegedly assaulting Edgardo A. Sumang at the bus stop along Chater Road on July 9 this year, a Sunday, when the street is  closed to vehicular traffic. No further details are given in the charge sheet.

The offence is a violation of Common Law, and is punishable under the Offences Against the Person Ordinance by up to a year in prison.

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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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