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work by selling food in Central, walked out of Shatin Court relieved after her breach of condition of stay case was withdrawn Tuesday (Apr 2) by the prosecution.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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Metal pieces found in some Magnum ice cream sticks, says govt

 

5 batches of the  Magnum Classic ice cream bar have been recalled in the UK

The Centre for Food Safety has issued a warning against a number of batches of the Magnum Classic Ice Cream Sticks that authorities in the United Kingdom have recalled because they might contain metal pieces.

According to the CFS statement issued Saturday (Mar 30), no import permission was issued in the past three years for the five batches of ice cream sticks that the UK has recalled, despite other Magnum products being available for sale in the market.

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Nevertheless, it is contacting local importers and retailers in case the product concerned has managed to get through other channels.

Magnum ice cream sticks, which are produced and distributed by Unilever, are sold in many parts of the world, including across Asia.

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Details of the product concerned are as follows:

Product name: Magnum Classic Ice Cream Sticks (3x100ml)

Brand: Magnum

Place of origin: UK

Volume: 100ml each

Best before date: November 2025

Batch number: L3324, L3325, L3326, L3327 and L3328

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"According to the record of the CFS, no import permission was issued in the past three years for the product concerned and the specific batches being recalled in the UK, despite other products of the brand concerned are available for sale in the market,” said the statement.

“Preliminary investigation of the CFS revealed that no specific batches of the product concerned are sold in Hong Kong. If the product concerned is found to have been imported into or sold in Hong Kong, the CFS will take appropriate action including requesting to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected product and to initiate a recall."

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The CFS urged anyone who might have purchased the affected batches of the product concerned abroad not to consume them. The sale and use of the said product should be stopped immediately.

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the case.

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CE Lee says care teams for ethnic minorities will be formed

 

CE Lee shares photo of him visiting an EM center in Wanchai (Facebook)

Chief Executive John Lee said on Saturday that the government will set up dedicated care teams for ethnic minorities.

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In a Facebook post, the CE said that he and his wife visited an EM service centre in Wan Chai during the Eastern break.

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He said he is committed to supporting the integration of ethnic minorities into society through education, employment, and social services.

He added the government will establish two more service centers for ethnic minorities in the city, bringing the total number to 10.

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Each of these centers would form its own care team to proactively reach out to and serve ethnic minority households, according to him.

EMs are also in line for support in education, employment, welfare and healthcare.

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According to a press statement issued by the government in October last year, its various governments will step up recruitment and outreach efforts to invite applications from EMs.

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