Man accused of helping 4 DH visa applicants lie to Immigration

 

A Filipino accused of helping four visa applicants to lie to the Immigration Department to be able to obtain a domestic helper’s visa, has remained in detention after prosecutors asked Shatin Court for an adjournment to continue to study his case.

Homer Herrera, 40 years old, is charged with four counts of “aiding and abetting the making a false representation to an Immigration Officer lawfully acting under or in the execution of Part III of the Immigration Ordinance.”

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The offense is a violation of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance and the immigration Ordinance.

In a hearing last Thursday (Feb. 8), Magistrate David Chum scheduled the resumption of the case for April 18.

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According to the first charge of the case filed by the Immigration Department, Herrera “did aid and abet” a certain Susna Rai on Jan. 5, 2022 in informing an Immigration officer that she would be employed by a certain Analiza Chan as a domestic helper, “which she knew to  be false or did not believe to be true.”

In the second charge, Herrera was accused of committing the offense on Aug. 11, 2022, for visa applicant Kaur Amandeep and supposed to be employer was Analiza Chan.

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In the third charge, the visa applicant on Nov. 5, 2021 was Jumiyati and the employer was Liza Quitorio Castillo.

In the third charge, the visa applicant on May 13, 2021 was Maria Chona Cagol and the employer was Jessebel Questo Clarke.

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2 DHs jailed for doing part-time work

 

Monmouth Terrace, where the two Filipinos were caught.

Two Filipino domestic helpers who were caught doing part-time work, which violated the Immigration Ordinance, have been sent to jail after they pleaded guilty at Shatin Court.

Ma. Ann Bustamante, 46 years old, and Hardy Chua, 44 years old, were charged along with an Indian, Neeraj Kumar, a 39-year-old asylum seeker, whose case was adjourned to Feb. 26.

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When they appeared before Magistrate David Chum last Friday, Feb. 9, Bustamante and Chua pleaded guilty to breaching the condition of their stay in Hong Kong and, as a result, were each meted 16 days’ imprisonment.

The two, who were under contract with the same employer, were caught on the same day, last Jan. 19, 2024, while doing odd jobs at Monmouth Terrace in Mid-levels, Central.

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They were also granted their working visa on the same day, Sept. 20, 2023, when they were given the condition that they must work only for their registered employer.

The two were charged along with Kumar because they were caught doing illegal work at the same time as the Indian at Monmouth Terrace.

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However, Kumar’s case was separated because it was different -- taking employment while being a person against whom a removal order is in force.

The arrest of the three came on the day the Immigration department announced the arrest of 13 suspected illegal workers in territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed "Twilight" and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed "Champion" and "Windsand", for four days from Jan. 15 to Jan. 18.

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Immigration said Task Force officers raided 24 target locations including premises under renovation, restaurants and retail shops. Seven suspected illegal workers were arrested. 

During operation "Champion", enforcement officers raided 83 target locations in Central and Western districts and arrested six suspected illegal workers.

Immigration has been mounting the operations regularly in an effort to combat illegal work, and has lately been targeting private homes and arrested domestic helpers doing part-time work.

"Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offense,” it warned.

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Filipino DH population in HK tops 200k again

 

The increase in the number of FDHs is slow but steady (File)

The number of Filipinos working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong has again breached the 20, 000 mark, according to statistics from the Immigration Department.

As of the end of January 2024, the total number of Filipino DHs has gone up to 201,104, a rise of 11,004 from the same period last year.      

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The Filipinos now comprise 55.6% of the total FDH population in Hong Kong, followed by Indonesia with 148,935 or 41.45%, of the overall figure of 359,296.

The remaining 3% is made up of nationals from India, Thailand and other countries.

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The month-on-month tally shows a steady rise in the number of FDHs coming to Hong Kong, despite the continuing outflow of residents, which numbered 291,000 last year.

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During the pandemic, the Filipino DH population reached a peak of 203,000 in July 2021, before beginning to slide gradually down as the Covid-19 pandemic worsened.

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The latest monthly tally of FDH population in Hong Kong per Immigration Department figures, is below:                

FDH Population
As at			Philippines	Indonesia	India	Thailand	Others	Total
2023	1	31	190 100	139 039	4 323	1 743	2 064	337 269
2023	2	28	190 744	139 859	4 396	1 729	2 075	338 803
2023	3	31	191 936	140 444	4 485	1 727	2 078	340 670
2023	4	30	193 098	140 985	4 583	1 729	2 076	342 471
2023	5	31	194 277	142 359	4 690	1 738	2 107	345 171
2023	6	30	194 682	142 621	4 752	1 733	2 106	345 894
2023	7	31	194 196	142 260	4 809	1 731	2 086	345 082
2023	8	31	196 364	143 171	4 908	1 739	2 094	348 276
2023	9	30	197 748	144 366	4 976	1 733	2 118	350 941
2023	10	31	198 687	145 715	5 030	1 736	2 166	353 334
2023	11	30	199 048	146 954	5 082	1 752	2 171	355 007
2023	12	31	199 516	147 597	5 182	1 760	2 176	356 231
2024	1	31	201 107	148 935	5 292	1 762	2 200	359 296

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