2 overstayers avoid getting jailed

 

Immigration cases are often heard at Shatin Court

Two Filipino overstayers who are seeking asylum in Hong Kong, avoided jail yesterday (March 3) after they appeared separately in Shatin Court.

Magistrate Gary Chu listened as the prosecutor presented the cases of S. A.Dino , 17 years old, and Marie Chris Parane, 33, both charged with breach of condition of stay, a violation of the Immigration Ordinance.

In the end, Dino got off with a bind-over after the prosecution offered no evidence and the case against him was withdrawn, while Parane was given a sentence of six days in jail, suspended for one year.

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Dino was told by Magistrate Chu that he need not pay the fine of $2,000 if he does not reoffend for the next 12 months.

However, he was charged $500 for costs, to be taken from his bail.

Dino arrived in 2021 as a visitor and was allowed by an Immigration officer to stay in Hong Kong until March 26 of that year.

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He did not leave for more than two years until his arrest on Sept. 5, 2023.

Parane, on the other hand, need not spend any time in jail even after pleading guilty to the same offense -- if she does not commit any offense for the next 12 months, Magistrate Chu explained.

However, Chu ordered that her bail of $500 be estreated – or confiscated.

Parane arrived in Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper, and was allowed to stay until April 9, 2022.

However, she remained in Hong Kong for another four months until she was arrested on Aug. 9, 2022 and later sought asylum.

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Tsunami warning in HK, PHL after 7.4 quake hit Taiwan

 

Footage from national broadcaster TVBS shows the damage in Hualien county

The Hong Kong Observatory has warned of a minor tsunami in the South China Sea in the aftermath of a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook Taiwan’s southeast coast early this morning, Wednesday.

According to the Observatory, the tsunami could hit Hong Kong between noon and 2pm today. There has been no update on the forecast so far.

In the Philippines and Japan, tsunami warnings were also issued. Philippine authorities also ordered the evacuation of residents in some coastal towns, but later recalled the order.

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Earlier, a number of Hong Kong residents reported feeling tremors after the devastating quake that rocked Taiwan at 7:58aam, with the county of Hualien, a sparsely populated area east of the capital,  as the epicenter.

Videos from the scene showed several toppled buildings and many people camped out in the streets, fearing aftershocks. (HK's SCMP carried this video taken at the scene: https://youtu.be/erQlxtGYvjo)

Initial reports said at least five people were killed in the tremor, the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years.  More than 50 people have been injured, with some trapped in buildings and tunnels around the city, according to the National Fire Agency.

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In the capital, Taipei,  footage from local broadcaster TVBS showed many collapsed residential buildings and people being evacuated from their homes and schools. Many vehicles were smashed and stores left in disarray.

Power cuts and internet outages have been reported across the island.

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Taipei’s Seismology Centre said the earthquake was close to land and shallow so it was felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands.

In September 1999, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan, killing 2,400 people and destroying 5,000 buildings.

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Pinay charged for selling food in Central bound over

 

Immigration cases are often heard at Shatin Court

A Filipina domestic helper accused of doing illegal work by selling food in Central, walked out of Shatin Court relieved after her breach of condition of stay case was withdrawn Tuesday (Apr 2) by the prosecution.

In return J. Torres, 50 years old, agreed to be bound over for one year – promising not to reoffend during this period or else be made to pay a fine of $2,000.

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She was also made to pay court costs of $500, which was the amount of her bail.

Torres had been accused of violating Section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance and the Immigration Regulations, which specify penalties of fine of up to $50,000 and two years’ imprisonment.

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But in today’s hearing before Magistrate Gary Chu, the prosecution offered no evidence and offered to withdraw the charges if Torres would agree to the bind-over.

The case arose after she was caught selling food in Central on July 5, 2023.

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A condition of her stay as a domestic helper prohibits her from taking any employment other than what is stated in her contract, as approved by the Immigration Department.

It specifies that she can only do domestic work in the address stated in her contract. 

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Filipina avoids jail for theft, another gets 2 months

 

The cases were heard at Eastern Court

Two Filipina domestic helpers were taken out of detention Tuesday (Apr 2) to separately face charges of theft at the Eastern Courts, but when their cases concluded with convictions after they pleaded guilty, one walked free and the other returned to jail to serve her sentence.

I. Abaquita, 47 years old, who had been in police detention for three days, was released after Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui sentenced her to two weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 15 months, for stealing 140 renminbi from her employer.

In the other case, Jennevie Miguel, 28 years old, was sent to prison for two months after also pleading guilty to stealing 50,000 Japanese yen (about HK2,500) from her employer.

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What spelled the diffence in the punishments?

Abaquita was accused of stealing two 20 renminbi and one 100 renminbi notes – equivalent to about HK$150 -- last March 30 in her employer’s flat on Smithfield St., Kennedy Town.

A police report said her employer placed the notes in a cabinet in the master bedroom in the morning, but noticed a few hours later that they were missing. The employer called the police. 

When the officers searched Abaquita’s belongings and found the notes, she was arrested.

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Police noted that during the investigation, Abaquita admitted stealing the Chinese currency to buy medicines for her sick mother. The whole amount was subsequently returned to the employer.

In mitigation, Abaquita’s lawyer noted that the amount involved was so small that, if a case in the past is made as a guide, the punishment should not be custodial. Besides, he added, the employer suffered no loss.

Magistrate Chui agreed and gave Abaquita a three-week prison term, reduced by one-third for her guilty plea, but suspended for 15 months. She warned the Filipina that while she will not be jailed immediately, she will be made to serve her sentence if she reoffends during this period.

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In the other case, Magistrate Chui also gave Miguel a one-third discount on her jail term of three months, but noted that theft was a serious offense and that she breached her employer’s trust.

Miguel’s lawyer also said she was unable to return the whole amount stolen, equivalent to HK$2,500, resulting in a loss of HK$2,000 for the employer.

Her employer told police that on March 5, he placed 300,000 yen in a red envelope and 100,000 yen in a white envelope and kept both envelopes under lock and key in a cabinet in his flat in Royal Court on Kennedy Road, Wanchai.

Last March 24, when he counted the money again, he found 3,000 yen missing from the red envelope and 1,000 yen missing from the white envelope. The next day, when another 1,000 yen went missing again, he called police.

Officers officers searched the house and found 1,000 yen in Miguel’s wallet.

During the investigation, she admitted also stealing the missing 4,000 yen.

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Jobseekers warned against fake document for Canada jobs

 

The Department of Migrant Workers has issued a warning against fake Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) documents, which Canadian employers are required to get before hiring a foreign worker to fill temporary labour and skill shortages.

The warning which the DMW posted on its Facebook page was made presumably  because of the proliferation of such fake LMIAs used to scam Filipino jobseekers.

The DMW has also previously warned against visa consulting companies offering fake job opportunities in Canada, using the student visa pathway as a ruse to reel in unsuspecting job applicants.

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According to the DMW, job hunters must keep their eyes open for these signs that the LMIA is fake:

• Unsolicited offers or LMIAs without prior communication or interview,

• Any "employer" asking you to pay for an LMIA,

• Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, or discrepancies in LMIAs could indicate a fraudulent offer,

• Pressure to act quickly forcing individuals to make rushed decisions,

• Unreachable "employer" or vague or non-existent contact information and address.

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To get more information about how they could be protected from fraud , job applicant are advised to go to the IRCC  (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) website:

https://www.canada.ca/.../protect-fraud/report-fraud.html

Earlier, the DMW also warned the public against taking up job offers from abroad which are offered through social media platforms as they are likely to come from illegal recruiters and scammers.

To ensure that the job offer and the agency or group offering the job is legitimate, they should search the DMW list at https://dmw.gov.ph and click "Licensed Recruitment Agencies" or "Approved Job Orders".

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They may also send a message directly to this Facebook page: DMW Anti-Illegal Recruitment and Trafficking in Persons Program.

The Facebook page also posts notices from time to time about companies or groups that are known to have engaged in illegal recruitments, particularly visa consulting firms that offered non-existent jobs in Canada to Filipinos, both in the Philippines and abroad.

They include PinoyCare Visa Consulting and Opportunities Abroad, which are currently the subject of a Senate committee inquiry about their alleged large-scale recruitment of Filipinos across the Philippines and abroad, including Hong Kong.

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Ex-DH jailed for drug trafficking fails in bid to appeal asylum rejection

 

The decision was handed down at the High Court (Google photo)

A former domestic helper who was jailed for drug trafficking after overstaying for more than three years, has failed in her bid to get the High Court to overturn a judgment that rejected her claim for asylum.

I.J. Bolante, 50, based her non refoulement claim on her fear that if sent home to Iriga City, Camarines Sur, she would be killed by either her husband or the government, because she was a drug addict.

The ruling came even after she withdrew her appeal. Because her withdrawal came too late and lacked some information, the court issued the ruling last March 22, signed by Allen Lee for the High Court Registrar on instructions from Deputy High Court Judge Anthony To.

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Bolante’s application for non refoulement, which would prevent Hong Kong from sending her home by force, was denied by the Director of Immigration and the Torture Claims Appeal Board because it failed to meet the requirements under under the Unified Screening Mechanism (“USM”): risk of torture, risk to life under the HK Bill of Rights (BOR); risk of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and BOR 2 (persecution) risk.

The court affirmed the rejection, also noting that she has no drug record in the Philippines and so will not be a target of a drug war. Besides, the Immigration Department “will not disclose her record of drug activities in Hong Kong to the Philippines authorities,” it said.

It also noted that while Bolante’s fear of being killed may be valid under the so-called war on drugs of the Duterte administration, which was in power when she filed her non-refoulement claim on April 3, 2019, the Marcos administration that followed has adopted a different policy.

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“The brutality of the Drug War initiated by President Duterte was mitigated by President Marcos’ rehabilitative approach,” it said. 

And to avoid her husband, she can live away from their house in Iriga, it said.

The court also noted that Bolante did not state the reason for her appeal. “In her statement of grounds, she reiterated her fears of harm or death from the Philippines government and her husband,” the decision said. “In essence, she is seeking to challenge the Board’s finding of fact…”

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This “is impermissible save for errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality,” it added.

The court asserted: “They (the Director and the Board) alone assess the evidence and find facts including those relating to the matters allegedly giving rise to the non-refoulement claim, risk of harm, availability of state protection and viability of internal relocation.”

Bolantes arrived in Hong Kong as a foreign domestic helper in April 2010.

She last entered Hong Kong for employment on April 22, 2014, but her job contract was terminated in October 2015. She did not leave Hong Kong within the allowed two weeks, and overstayed.

She was arrested on March 14, 2019 in Tsim Sha Tsui for drug trafficking, having in her possession 11.69 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, and was sentenced on Nov. 12, 2020 to six and a half years in prison by the District Court, plus two months for overstaying, which ran at the same time.

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Trial run of waste charging scheme begins at 14 places

 

Disposing trash on the streets, in unmarked bags, will be forbidden starting on Aug 1

A trial run of the government’s twice-delayed Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme (MSW)  began today, Monday, at 14 different places across Hong Kong, despite some residents saying they are unclear about the rules.

During the test run which is being held in a select group of public and private housing estates, a government office block,  shopping centers, care homes and restaurant, the government will gather information ahead of the mandatory implementation of the law on August 1.

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Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk, who is leading an inter-departmental working group on the scheme, said the authorities will use the trial to determine the way forward for the policy.

"[The working group] will take a comprehensive look at this trial, because there are a lot of aspects for us to monitor, such as people's participation, their understanding and acceptance of the scheme, and the amount of garbage and recyclables," Cheuk said.

Under the so-called Waste Charging Scheme, all rubbish generated by residential and non-residential premises, including commercial and industrial buildings, will incur charges based on the amount of waste disposed of.

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This will be made possible by requiring all households and businesses to use designated bags or labels (for bigger pieces of trash) when disposing of their rubbish.

As early as February this year, the designated bags and designated labels were already made available for purchase at authorized outlets such as supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and online platforms.

The designated garbage bags come in different sizes, and can hold waste matters weighing between 3L to 100L. Each 3-liter bag costs 33 cents while the 100L ones cost $11 each. All the bags should be filled to only 70% of their capacity before being dumped in the bins.

The garbage tags which should be attached to each large piece of rubbish being disposed of, such as furniture and appliances, will cost $11.

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To incur lower fees, everyone is encouraged to recycle, with the government promising to provide more easily accessible recycling points.

Under current rules, leaving trash beside rubbish bins could result in $3k fine 

While the new rules will take effect on August 1, a six-month grace period will be enforced, during which offenders will be let off with verbal warnings.

After this period, enforcement will be exercised based on a risk-based approach, with particular attention being given to places with a high incidence of violations. Offenders will be issued fixed penalty tickets amounting to $1,500 each, with serious and repeat offenders being issued court summons, and meted a possibly higher penalty.

In October last year, the government raised the fixed penalty for the illegal disposal of large amount of waste materials or unauthorized shop front extensions to $6,000.

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High Court rejects asylum bid of Filipino fearing uncle’s wrath

 

The case was heard at the High Court (Photo from Google Maps)

The High Court has rejected a Filipino’s request for judicial review of the rejection of his application for asylum which was based on his fear he would be harmed by his uncle if he returned to his village in Benguet  because of his gender preference.

Deputy High Court Judge Bruno Chan ruled on merit even after D.A. Balbalin, 30, withdrew his appeal, saying he had resolved his problems and it was now safe for him to go back home.

Balbalin filed his non-refoulement claim with the Immigration Department following his surrender on April 17, 2019 -- two months after his two-week tourist visa expired. The application was then rejected by the director of Immigration and the Torture Claims Appeal Board.

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Judge Chan affirmed that decision, saying: “Having considered the decisions of both the Director and the Board with rigorous examination and anxious scrutiny, I do not find any error of law or procedural unfairness in either of them, nor any failure on their part to apply high standards of fairness in their consideration and assessment of the Applicant’s claim.”

Judge Chan’s decision, released last March 26, added: “…judicial review is not an avenue for revisiting the assessment by them in the hope that the court may consider the matter afresh….”

Balbalin sought non-refoulement, which would prevent the Hong Kong government from forcibly sending him back to the Philippines, because he feared that his paternal uncle wanted him killed for being a homosexual and a supposed bad influence to his cousins, and because he had informed authorities about his uncle’s involvement in illegal mining in their province.

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As proof, he cited an incident in which, while he was on his way home from work, he was attacked by several unknown men with knives and other weapons, causing severe injuries.

He claimed he was saved after his colleagues intervened and the attackers fled.

The Director of Immigration, as well as the Torture Claims Appeal Board to which he later appealed, concluded that his application was based on a private personal dispute with his uncle, and did not meet any of the four universal criteria for granting asylum:

• Risk of torture.
• Risk to his rights under Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, including right to life.
• Risk of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
• Risk of persecution defined by the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

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The Immigration director also noted that the level of risk of harm from his uncle upon his return is low and there is no evidence that those unknown assailants were sent by his uncle to kill him.

Besides, Balbalin could settle and seek livelihood in other parts of the country, such as Manila where it would be difficult if not impossible for his uncle to locate him, the ruling concluded.

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