DH denies stealing suitcase

A domestic helper pleaded not guilty to theft when she appeared in Shatin Court today, resulting in a trial being set to find out if she did steal a suitcase from her employer. 

Separately, another domestic helper has been issued a warrant of arrest after she failed to show up for her hearing on a separate theft case yesterday (Feb. 14), also at Shatin Court.

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Erlinda Dreo, 41 years old, pleaded not guilty to stealing a suitase valued at $1,099 from her employer, Bong Yick Man Monica.

It was alleged that Dreo stole the suitcase at her employer’s house in Woodcrest Hill in Tai Po between Feb. 1 and Sept. 15 last year. 

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She was charged under Section 9 of the Theft Ordinance.

With the not guily plea, Acting Principal Magistrate set the trial to begin on March 6.

Dreo was set free on $500 bail.

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Meanwhile, police have been on the lookout for Juliet Batan, 45 years old, after she failed to appear  before Magistrate Chan, charged with stealing a number of items from her employer, Yeung Shun Yin.

The helper is accused of stealing 12 pieces of clothing, a pair of black gloves, two brown wallets, two pairs of binoculars, one charger, one jade pendant, three rings, one watch, two bracelets, five necklaces, and one brooch, valued at a total of $10,850.

The theft allegedly happened between Sept. 16 2022 and Oct. 28 last year at her employer’s home in Chun Shek Estate, Tai Wai, New Territories.

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Filipina charged with pretending to be employer

 

Hearing is adjourned as defendant was unrepresented

A Filipina who allegedly signed a domestic helper’s contract as an employer, appeared yesterday (Feb. 14) in Shatin Court, embroiled in a case of conspiracy to defraud after the employment arrangement was found to be fake.

Almira Chow, 51 years old, was accused of conspiring with three others – Aprilyn Tupas, Gina Villareal and Homer Herrera – to make it appear to the Immigration Department from 2021 ro Sept. 8, 2023 that Tupas would work for her as a domestic helper.

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The misrepresentation resulted in Immigration officers granting Tupas permission to remain in Hong Kong, “which they would not otherwise have granted,” the charge stated.

When Chow appeared on Wednesday ( Feb. 14) Acting Principal Magistrate Amy Chan noted that she  was unrepresented, which was unacceptable because the offense would require imprisonment if she is found guilty.

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When asked why she had no lawyer when she had one from the Duty Lawyer Service in the previous hearing, Chow said she had no money to hire one  

This prompted Magistrate Chan to suspend the hearing and allowed Chow to return to the DLS office. When Chow returned to say that no lawyer was available, the magistrate rescheduled the hearing for March 26, extended her bail of $1,000, and reminded her of the need to be represented.

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One of those named as Chow’s co-conspirators, Herrera, is facing a separate case of helping four other visa applicants to lie to the Immigration Department to be able to obtain a domestic helper’s visa, and was detained after also appearing at Shatin Court last Feb. 8.

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,” a violation of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance and the immigration Ordinance.

 

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Filipina's reason for overstaying: to protect health

 

A Filipina asylum seeker found a novel justification for overstaying her visa for four years and six months when she appeared at Shatin Court today: She needed to protect her heath.

When asked to explain, Marilou Rasuento, 67 years old, said she has diabetes and presented evidence in the form of a vaccination certificate for Covid-19, and receipts from a hospitalization in 2010.

But the reason cited by Rasuento failed to sway Acting Principal Magistrate Amy Chan, who sentenced her to 16 weeks’ imprisonment.

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Magistrate Chan cited, for example, the invoice presented by Rasuento as evidence of her obtaining health care. “This document is asking for payment,” she said, noting that being a non-resident, she does not qualify for free medical care.

Pressed further, Rasuento said it was the ISS -- International Social Service Hong Kong Branch (ISS-HK), the non-government organization taking care of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees – that settled the bills as she was an asylum seeker under its care.

Magistrate Chan said such hospitalizations pose a big burden to Hong Kong.

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She started with a penalty of 24 weeks but because Rasuento pleaded guilty, she reduced this by a third.

She did not give Rasuento credit for surrendering to the Immigration Department after her claim for non-refoulment, which would prevent the Hong Kong government from forcibly sending her back to the Philippines, failed in March last year.'

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Rasuento arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor and was given two weeks to stay, until Jan 2, 2017.

However, she did not leave and stayed until she was arrested on July 19, 2021.

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Love is (floating) in the air!

 

The design centerpiece is this giant red heart that floats over Statue Square in Central

Giant and chubby red hearts began popping up across Hong Kong today, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Among the first to pop and float about were the red heart balloons that were seen over Statue Square in Central, the Flower Market in Mong Kok, the Lam Tsuen Wishing Square in Tai Po, and the Belcher Bay Promenade in Kennedy Town.

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The massive balloon centerpiece in Central measures about 12 meters in diameter and is suspended over Statue Square, including its iconic fountain.

A tram promotes the project which aims to bring a smile to people's faces

Hong Kong was chosen as the first international installation of Chubby Hearts, a project conceived by renowned British designer Anya Hindmarch. It was first launched in 2021, when giant balloons were suspended over London’s landmarks as an expression of love for the city.

A smaller heart floats above the Kennedy Town promenade

Curated and presented by Hong Kong Design Centre, Chubby Hearts Hong Kong will appear at various iconic landmarks across the city until Feb. 24.

The additional sites chosen for the romantic displays will only be known each day by checking out the Design Centre’s designated website.

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Chubby Hearts Hong Kong is the first project to be launched by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, which was founded last year to attract and support international arts and cultural events in Hong Kong.

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It aims to develop the city into an international arts and culture hub.

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Arrest warrant issued for Filipino linked to money laundering

 

A Filipino whose Hong Kong ID card was used by another man to open two bank accounts that were later used for money laundering, is now being sought under a warrant of arrest issued by the Shatin Court.

Ricardo de Austria, 53 years old, did not show up in court when his case was called last Feb. 6, prompting Acting Principal Magistrate Amy Chan to issue an arrest warrant, hold his bail in reserve, and order that he not be granted bail if arrested.

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De Austria is charged along with Leila Fonte, 55 and also a Filipino, who is accused of arranging to have Mohammed Shah use his HKID in opening accounts with Hang Seng Bank and CMB Wing Lung Bank.

Because these bank accounts in his name received deposits of a total of $414,781.33, which were quickly withdrawn from Aug. 6, 2020 to Sept. 20, 2020, he and Fonte were jointly charged with dealing with proceeds of a crime – a violation of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

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Aside from this, Fonte also faces seven other charges.

She is charged with conspiracy to use an identity card relating to another person, a result of having Shah use de Austria’s HKID in opening the two bank accounts in July 2020, which is against the Crimes Ordinance and the Registration of Persons Ordinance.

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Fonte is charged with lending her own HKID to a certain Merlyn Ibon on three occasions: on an unknown date in 2016, in September 2021 and in January 2022.

She also charged, along with Ibon, of conspiracy to handle proceeds of a crime, because an HSBC account opened in her name by Ibon had deposits and withdrawals that totalled $596,611.40.

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Her seventh charge is conspiracy to defraud, for making Ibon obtain a loan of $10,103 from United Asia Finance Ltd. in June-August 2018 using the borrowed HKID.

Finally, Fonte was accused of lying to an Immigration officer on Feb. 11, 2020, when she told him that she was working at a restaurant named Hutong.

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Mabatid a no-show in Senate, told to explain why she should not be held in contempt

 

Mabatid keeps photos of her with top politicians on her Facebook account

Embattled visa consultancy operator Prisca Nina Mabatid has been told to explain why she should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with an order to attend today’s Senate committee hearing on the massive illegal recruitment charges filed against her.

The “show-cause” order was issued on the orders of Senator Raffy Tulfo, head of Senate’s Committee on Migrant Workers, which is carrying out the inquiry along  with Senator Risa Hontiveros.

“Before we proceed with the testimonies of the victims, we have received a letter from the lawyers of Nina Mabatid citing conflict of schedule to justify her absence in today’s hearing,” said Senator Tulfo, showing obvious displeasure.

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He immediately ordered the committee secretariat to issue an order to Mabatid telling her to  “show cause” why she should not be held in contempt, but did not indicate a deadline for her compliance.

In the previous hearing on Feb. 7, the National Bureau of Investigation revealed that Mabatid was recorded as having arrived in the country from the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 26 after being put in the Immigration watchlist. Senator Risa Hontiveros immediately asked that she be asked to appear in today’s session to address the charges against her.

At today’s hearing, the NBI senior investigator Paul Tumbali said he was about to  file charges of large-scale illegal recruitment and syndicated estafa against Mabatid, based on complaints filed by 15 alleged victims who hail from different parts of the country.

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Tumbali also said there are a total of 10 other cases about to be filed against Mabatid in her hometown of Cebu. Another similar case filed against her in Baguio City was resulted in a warrant of arrest being issued against her. However, it was held in abeyance pending the hearing of a motion for reinvestigation filed by her lawyers.

Today's Senate Committee hearing which Mabatid skipped due to 'schedule conflict'

Mabatid, a former Cebu City councilor who operated two visa consultancy companies, Pinoy Care Visa Centre and Opportunities Abroad, is accused by more than 100 Filipinos based in and outside the Philippines, of reneging on her offer to help them secure student visas in Canada, after collecting processing fees of no less than P100,000 from each of them.

While they were supposed to enter Canada as students, Mabatid allegedly assured them that they could work and earn enough money there to pay for their tuition and living expenses. She also offered to lend them P1 million each as “show money” to support their visa application.

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Among the complainants who testified at the hearing was Ronell Robles, who said that after paying the Php104,000 processing fee in cash  to Mabatid’s group, he was given a letter containing a “memorandum of agreement” stating that what he paid was non-refundable, for whatever reason.

Finding this alarming, Robles said he declined to sign the document and tried to get his money back, but was told it could no longer be refunded because he was already issued a  receipt.

Another complainant, Cherryl Genobebe  from Hong Kong, gave a detailed account of how Mabatid, along with her partner Russ Mark Gamallo and OFW blogger Bryan Calagui, had teamed up to entice hundreds of OFWs here to enlist with their student visa scheme.

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Genobebe said that during her Hong Kong talk on Feb 19, 2023 Mabatid promised would-be applicants they would be going to Canada on a work-study program, and that they could bring along family members who would likewise work there legally.

But it was only after paying the required ‘spot cash’ of $18,731 (Php132,000) that the applicants were given a long list of  requirements they should comply with, and asked to sign a MOA with the non-refundable clause that they were not warned about beforehand.

When Mabatid returned to Hong Kong in June last year, Genobebe and some other applicants called the police to ask for help in securing a refund. Mabatid agreed to give back their money the following Sunday but reneged on her promise. The group then filed a complaint with the police and the Consulate.

According to Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion, her group has received more than 150 such complaints between July and December last year, and all have been forwarded to the DMW and the NBI.

But the 20 or so complaints from Hong Kong were forwarded directly to the DMW, which in turn passed them on to the NBI for prosecution.

DMW Assistant Secretary Francis de Guzman said the Hong Kong cases have yet to be filed because all the elements of the alleged offence were all committed here, and the case has been classified by the police here as “fraud.”

He also said the complainants had merely asked for a refund of their money, but the OFWs who have been pursuing their case since June last year have objected to this, saying they want prosecution first and foremost, although compensation should come as a result of this.

The committee, which also continued an inquiry into another massive illegal recruitment of Filipinos for non-existent jobs in Italy, did not set the date for its next hearing.

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All-Pinoy band offers to sing at Filcom events

 

The MaDMc band compose and perform all-original Pinoy music

A group of Filipinos – two foreign domestic and two residents – bonded together because of their love for music, and together, have been composing and performing songs that should resonate with the migrant community in Hong Kong.

The group that calls itself MaDMc (for Marie and Da Marios Crew) compose songs in different genres, but it is their poignant compositions such as “Linggo na Naman” that often catch the attention of their fellow Pinoys.  (You can listen to it here: 'Linggo na Naman')

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The group is made up of Mogs, a domestic worker-driver  who is the lead guitarist; Mhikey,  a resident is the drummer; AC,  son of a musician-resident who plays bass guitar; and Marie, a domestic helper who does the vocals and also plays the guitar.

They want it known that they are around to spread some 'good vibes' among Filipinos by performing  original songs culled from the collective experiences of most members of the community.

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The group shares that they used to know each  other but lost touch and accidentally met only again at an event in Central last Oct. 15. After reminiscing about the good old times, they started talking about music, and agreed to start jamming again.

The band gets to jam only on Sundays and holidays

That led to regular meet-ups on Sunday, and then on to recording their original compositions, which can be accessed on their Youtube channel, MaDMc. They also have accounts on Facebook and Instagram under the name Marie and da Mario’s Crew.

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The group wants it known they are open to performing at public or charity events. Anyone interested can call Mhikey at 68921041 or Mogs at 60553540, or email at marieanddamarioscrew@gmail.com 

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