Filipino jailed 36 months for conspiracy to defraud Immigration

 

The accused is facing 25 charges of fraud
at the District Court

A Filipino who operated a business getting Immigration Department to approve domestic helper visa applications using fake supporting documents, was jailed today for 36 months on 18 counts of conspiracy to defraud.

Homer Herrera, 41 years old, faced 25 charges of violating Common Law, punishable under section 159C(6) of the Crimes Ordinance, but pleaded guilty to 18.

Deputy District Judge Alice Chan sentenced him to 23 months’ imprisonment for the first charge. She also sentenced him to 23 months for each of the 17 other charges and made them all run at the same time, except for 13 months which will run after the first sentence.

Judge Chan said the seven remaining charges, in which the Immigration Department denied the visa applications, will be held on file for future reference.

TAWAG NA!

Herrera was seen smiling after Deputy District Judge Alice Chan left the court room. His lawyer was heard telling him that having been in jail for two years, he was due for release in two months after holidays and discounts for good behavior are deducted from his prison term.

For the guilty plea, Judge Chan gave Herrera a 40 per cent discount on his sentence, but this was wiped out by what she called “aggravating features”.

His being a Form 8 holder, or an applicant for asylum and therefore prohibited from doing business in Hong Kong, added three months to the sentence. His having been convicted on two occasions for similar charges, resulting in his being jailed for a total of nine months, had no deterrent effect on him so she added another three months. The fact that he pleaded guilty to more than one charge added another three months.

Using a computer, Herrera produced fake supporting papers for the applications to get Immigration officers to approve the visas, such as the employers’ proof of address, tax declarations and utilities bills.

She noted that the business was well coordinated and lucrative, even employing Filipino females who acted as intermediaries or agents to recruit DH visa applicants.

Herrera charged $20,000 to $30,000 to domestic helper visa applicants, and gave $10,000 to people who would sign their contracts, Judge Chan said.

 “The employers were fully aware that these were not genuine. And the domestic helpers did not intend to work (as such),” she said.

Herrera arrived in 2007 and worked until 2015 as a musician.

However, he failed to get permanent residency even if his father was a permanent resident, and thus applied for asylum to remain in Hong Kong.

For details of the 25 charges, click here:

https://www.sunwebhk.com/2024/06/filipinos-visa-from-fake-jobs-case.html

https://www.sunwebhk.com/2024/07/5-charges-added-to-20-against-filipino.html

Pinay arrested over cat’s fatal fall

 

The cat reportedly fell from one of the flats in this high-rise building (Google photo)

Hong Kong Police have confirmed the arrest of a Filipina domestic helper last Thursday, Oct. 30, on suspicion of animal cruelty.

The 26-year-old Filipina has since been released on police bail, according to the Philippine Consulate.

The police said a passerby had called to report finding a cat that was lying motionless on a ground near Heya Crystal estate on Castle Peak Road, Cheung Sha Wan.

TAWAG NA!

The 1.5-year-old male Ragdoll cat was declared dead at the scene, and was suspected to have fallen from height.

An investigation revealed the cat was owned by the tenant of a flat in a high-rise building across the street where it was found.

Officers then arrested the helper at the flat on suspicion of cruelty to animals, and was taken to the Sham Shui Po police station for questioning.

Consulate officers say they are assisting the suspect.

The crime of animal cruelty is punishable with a maximum jail term of three years and a fine of $200,000.

But in February this year, more than 60 local animal welfare organizations released a joint petition urging the maximum penalty to be raised to seven years in prison and fines of up to $1 million, citing an alarming increase in animal abuse cases in recent months.

Their statement cited a number of horrific animal abuse cases in recent months, including the use of illegal traps, the wrapping of cats to death and use of cat heads for ritual, and the recurrent poisoning of animals even near residential areas.

The group also urged that individuals convicted of serious animal abuse be prohibited from keeping pets in future.

Peso dips back to 58.79 to greenback after record fall

 

The peso dropped to its lowest level against the US$ last Tuesday

The Philippine peso closed at Php58.79 against the US dollar today, Nov. 3, after rallying earlier in the day to around Php57. (In Hong Kong dollar terms, this means a current exchange rate of Php7.57 to HK$1).

This was the fifth day of ups and downs for the Philippine currency, after it posted an intraday record drop to P59.26 on Tuesday.

The all-time low set off alarm bells as the Php59 level is seen by traders as an indication that the Philippine currency is fast losing its shine, and often prompts the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to step in to avert a possible freefall.

TAWAG NA!

While BSP officials did not confirm direct intervention, Governor Eli Remolona said that “excessive movements” of the peso will be managed to reflect fundamentals.

Tuesday's record fall was not the first time that the national currency had dipped significantly. Records show it has managed to bounce repeatedly from around this threshold since 2022, though it never breached the Php59 level.

In any case, the peso bounced back to Php58.69 by the day’s end, and continued to hover above the P58 level until today.

With December just around the corner, traders expect that the peso will be bolstered by the traditional Christmas season peak for overseas remittances, which normally rises by 20 to 25% above monthly averages.

It could even be more this time, as overseas Filipinos who earn in dollars could be encouraged to increase their usual remittances during the season.

Data show that the peso remains one of Asia’s weakest performing currencies this year. It has lost more than 2% of its value since July, when President Ferdinand E. Marcos revealed during his State of the Nation address that many of the government’s flood control projects were turned into money-making schemes.

In contrast, the Taiwan dollar gained 6.8% over the greenback, 6.6 percent for the Malaysian ringgit, and five percent for the Thai baht.

Longtime Filcom leader signs off with signature pageant

 

Lee Ann says goodbye to HK pageantry in a preliminary event of Bb Turismo 2025

A migrant leader who has made a name for herself with the mega events she has organized for the Filipino community in Hong Kong has bowed out in colorful and grand fashion on Sunday, November 2 with the grand finale of her signature pageant, Binibing Turismo Pilipinas 2025.

Lee Ann E. Mas, who has worked in Hong Kong for the past 18 years, told the thousands of people who joined the day-long community event on Chater Road in Central that it was the last time that the Bb Turismo pageant would be held as she is going home for good.

The former teacher confirmed to The SUN reports that she plans to try her hand at politics, saying the Mayor of their hometown in Cagayan has asked her to run as councilor in the 2028 election.

TAWAG NA!

“My mom is serving her third term as councilor, and might either run for a higher position or retire,” Lee Ann revealed. 

Lee Ann would also be going home to a brand-new house that she and her husband and fellow OFW-driver Aldwin G. Mas have recently moved into, along with their two sons. 

Lee Ann and Aldwin recently celebrated their silver wedding anniversary

In Lee Ann’s  farewell event in Hong Kong, all 14 contestants put their best foot forward, but in the end it was Shaira Bongosia, an Ilongga from the Magdalo group, who emerged as the fairest of them all. 

Shaira (in grey) was proclaimed Bb Turismo 2025
with only a nearby lamppost lighting the Chater stage 

Tall, tan and lovely Shaira also won for the best in production number and talent categories, with her playful but skillful performance of the Pasigin folk dance.

For the past eight years, Lee Ann has organized and directed the pageant meant to showcase the best in Philippine culture through the attires, looks and performances of the OFW contestants representing various regions in the Philippines.

She managed to get the contest, which required no mean effort to mount, going, even thru the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But this was also thanks to her husband Aldwin, who as head of the Federation of Luzon Active Groups (or Flag) helped provide Lee Ann the organizational and funding support she needed to stage some of the best organized Filipino events in Hong Kong.

Lee Ann first became widely known in the community for organizing and choreographing the Kulay Pinoy dance segment for the Philippine Independence Day celebration in 2016. Even as the rains poured through the performance, some 400 OFWs who went through many months of practice stayed put until the finale, when they formed the image of the Philippine flag.

Kulay Pinoy spectacle choreographed by Lee Ann with about 400 OFWs taking part

Since then, she has mounted many other notable performances, either with other groups including the Philippine Consulate General, or on her own, with Aldwin and other Flag leaders backing her up.

Though she has declared that last Sunday’s Bb Turismo would be her swan song, Lee Ann will be leaving behind a bigger and more inclusive organization that will hold annual events to honor the country’s so-called modern-day heroes, the OFWs.

The group, Kabayani Hong Kong, will lead various Filipino migrant organizations in Hong Kong in continuing Flag’s advocacy of promoting Philippine culture, but on a larger scale, as it will have members not just from Luzon, but the other two main islands of Visayas and Mindanao.

Lee Ann said she has already trained some key officers in the group in organizing and staging an event on the Filipino stronghold of Chater Road. But they and many other Filipinos in Hong Kong would likely agree that Lee Ann would be a tough act to follow.

 

Bartender denies theft, drug possession charges

 

The theft allegedly took place at Mandarin Oriental (Google Maps photo)

A 26-year-old bartender has been detained pending his trial, after he appeared at Eastern Court and denied charges of theft and possession of a dangerous drug.

Magistrate Ko Wai-hung set a trial date of Dec. 22 for A.J. de Guzman, 26 years old, who pleaded not guilty to violating section 9 of the Theft Ordinance and sections 8(1)(a) and (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

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In a hearing president over by Magistrate Ko on Thursday (Oct. 30), de Guzman pleaded not guilty to the charges after each was read to him.

According to a complaint filed by the Central Police, the theft charge arose after de Guzman allegedly took one recycle bag belonging to someone else on Jan. 24, 2025 at "The Aubrey", a restaurant in the 25th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong on Connaught Road, Central.

The bag contained one wallet, a Hong Kong identify card, a Mainland travel permit card, a driving license, two Oyster cards with card holder, one mobile phone, one E-reader, one Hang Seng Bank ATM card, one MOX bank credit card, two The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited ATM cards, one Standard Chartered Bank credit card and $350 in cash all owned by a certain Tsun Man-yee.

On the same day, de Guzman was searched by police officers while in front of a shop on 45 Pottinger Street in Central.

Basahin ang detalye!

Found in his possession were two hand-rolled cigarettes containing a total of 0.09 grams of cannabis (marijuana) in herbal form.

Name and charge all culprits, says Filipino anti-corruption group in HK

 

Sister Neneth addresses convenors of Fil-Action HK's inaugural meeting

A newly formed coalition of Filipinos in Hong Kong has called on the Philippine government to publish the list of all those implicated in the country’s massive corruption scandal involving public work projects, particularly those meant for flood control, then hold them accountable.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Filipinos Against Corruption and Impunity (Fil-Action) HK Network called on the government to expose not just the officials involved in the corruption mess, but also the contractors and other people they colluded with.

In addition, Fil-Action said the officials named should be mandated to disclose their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and bank account details to ensure transparency and accountability.

The coalition is also calling for the freezing of assets of all those implicated in the growing scandal, until full accountability is achieved.

While acknowledging that the Independent Committee on Infrastructure has already recommended the filing of charges against Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, resigned Congressman Rep. Zaldy Co, Audit Commissioner Mario Lipana among others, FilAction said more needs to be done.

“As long as the prosecution of those accountable remains elusive, these developments are not enough to appease the anger of the Filipino people,” said Fil-Action.

“The call for accountability among public officials involved in the anomalous flood control projects and other corrupt practices in the government remains strong and will continue to grow.”

 

Basahin ang detalye!

To publicly express their anger over the corruption that has cost billions of pesos in public funds, Fil-Action leaders are holding a community event and protest on November 30, Bonifacio Day, at Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town.

The program will include a speak-out and creative protest activities like poetry reading, community singing and a “zumbaha” dance against corruption. 

On the side, there will be community services like free massage and blood pressure and glucose checks, and interative activities like a protest wall and photo booth.

Fil-Action brings together Filipinos from various sectors – migrants, religious, students, business, academe, health workers and community advocates – who are determined to speak out against the large-scale corruption in the Philippines.

The group was formed amid growing outrage among Filipinos, within the country and abroad, over the billions of pesos pilfered from government coffers by a few, while the majority suffer from high prices, inadequate health protection and a lack of basic social services.

Those who want to join Fil-Action and know more about its planned activities may call the following: 

Dolores Balladares (Migrant Worker) 852- 9747 2986

Sister Neneth Diño (RGS) 852- 9854 2347

Jose Monfred Sy – (HKU- Youth and Student) 852- 5775 1842

 

Indonesian DH jailed 2 weeks for stealing $2.5k

 

Illustrative photo created with deevid.ai

What is the penalty if a domestic helper is convicted of stealing $2,500?

In the case of Indonesian Alvionita Vini, who pleaded guilty in Kwun Tong Court Tuesday (Oct. 28) to stealing $500 and $2,000 in separate occasions from her employer, the penalty appeared to be roughly equivalent to working for two weeks as domestic helper.

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Acting Principal Magistrate Leung Ka-kie handed the 33-year-old Indonesian a 10-day prison term for the first theft of $500 and two weeks’ jail for the theft of $2,000 -- both violations of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance.

As Magistrate Leung ordered that the two sentences run concurently, the final jail term is two weeks.

Both thefts – the first last Sept. 15 and the second on an unknown day in February 2025 -- took place inside a flat at The Parkside in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, according to a Tseung Kwan O Police complaint filed last Sept. 17.

The minimum allowable wage for foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong is now $5,100 per month.

Basahin ang detalye!

While Vini may have keep locked up for only half a month, the financial cost to her will be far more than the salary she did not earn for the period.

As she now has a criminal record, she will no longer be allowed to continue working in Hong Kong.

15 people arrested in latest anti-illegal work operation

 

Assisting Immigration in the raids were the police, as well as FEHD and LCSD agents

A week-long operation to flush out illegal workers has resulted in the arrest of 15 people recently, according to a statement released by the Immigration Department.

Of those arrested, 13 are suspected to be illegal workers, comprising 11 men and two women, aged 27 to 58.

The two others, a man and a woman aged 36 and 56, were suspected of employing the illegal workers.

The operation which lasted from Oct 24 to 30, was held jointly with the HK Police Force, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Various premises were targeted in the raids, including restaurants and flats under renovation.

Immigration said an investigation into the suspected employers is ongoing, and further arrests cannot be ruled out.

Under Hong Kong Immigration laws, any person who violates a condition of stay, such as tourists, non-refoulement claimants or overstayers who take up unauthorized work, shall be guilty of an offence.

The maximum penalty for those who do illegal work is between two to three years in prison and a fine of $50,000.

Employers of illegal workers face more severe penalties, with the maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to $500,000.

Basahin ang detalye!

To report suspected illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 3861 5000, by fax at 2824 1166, email to anti_crime@immd.gov.hk, or submit "Online Reporting of Immigration Offences" form at www.immd.gov.hk.

Filipina suffered only minor burns from stove blast, says MWO

 

The Filipina is confined at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin

Officers of the Migrant Workers Office say the 34-year-old Filipino who was injured along with her employer’s mother in a stove explosion in Sha Tin suffered only minor burns, but should remain in hospital for about two to three weeks.

MWO Officer-in-Charge Tony Villafuerte along with social welfare attaché Rem Marcelino visited the Filipina domestic worker at the Prince of Wales Hospital on Thursday and said the attending doctor had assured them that the patient was in stable condition.

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“We told her to focus first on her recovery and assured her that we will assist her in filing a claim due to the accident,” said Villafuerte.

The accident happened on Tuesday night in the employer’s house at World-Wide Gardens in Sha Tin. The 70-year-old local woman was cooking and was being assisted by the Filipina when the stove exploded, setting the kitchen on fire.

It so happened that the Filipina had her head bowed while watching over the cooking, so she bore the brunt of the explosion, suffering first-degree burns to her face and feet.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene managed to contain the blaze before it could spread to other parts of the house.

Basahin ang detalye!

An initial investigation showed gas had leaked from the stove’s pipeline, causing the explosion. No signs of foul play were detected.

Under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance in Hong Kong, employees who are injured or die due to a work-related accident or occupational disease, even if at fault, are liable to compensation from the compulsory insurance that employers are required to take in their name.

7 months’ jail for lying to Immigration

 

The case was heard at Shatin Court

A Filipina has been jailed for seven months after she pleaded guilty at Shatin Court on Thursday to a charge of conspiracy to defraud by lying to the Immigration Department.

Eunice Sejas, 36 years old, admitted submitting to Immigration a fake employment contract to work as a domestic helper for a certain M. Marcellier .

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A complaint by the Immigration Department said the act, committed between an unknown day in 2024 and Sept. 16 this year, was contrary to Common Law and punishable under section 159C(6) of the Crimes Ordinance.

It accused Sejas of “purportedly entering into a foreign domestic helper contract, and by dishonestly and falsely representing to the Director and his officers that (she) would work for Marcellier, M as a foreign domestic helper.”

Basahin ang detalye!

The act “thereby induce(d) the said Director and his officers to act contrary to their public duty, namely to grant (Sejas) permission to remain in Hong Kong under circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted.”

Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong handed down the sentence. 

Illegal recruiter gets life, fined P2M

 

News of the sentencing was released by the DMW 

A Filipina who offered jobs in Palau and Cyprus and accepted down payments from applicants despite being unlicensed, was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of P2 million after being found guilty of large-scale illegal recruitment.

In addition, Arlene Ramos alias “Juliet” was also convicted of estafa, and ordered to return the money paid by the applicants, apart from a separate jail sentence of between two months and one day to a year and one month.

A press statement issued by the Department of Migrant Workers announced Ramos' conviction and sentence, but did not disclose which court had decided on the case.

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The DMW statement said Ramos had offered domestic worker jobs to Filipinos, and promised them a monthly salary of Php30,000 for a two-year contract. In exchange, she demanded a placement fee of between Php90,000 and Php155,000.

Three applicants who testified against her said they had given her a down payment and all the documents that she had asked for, but they never received the contract promised them. No one was able to leave for the promised destinations.

The witnesses also said they met “Juliet” through one Cecilio Garcia alias “Boy,” who also collected Php155,000 from them before he passed them on to Ramos.

Basahin ang detalye!

The authorities are still trying to track down Garcia.

Large-scale illegal recruitment is a non-bailable offence under Republic Act 10022, and is punishable with life imprisonment.

It is committed when three or more people, either individually or in a group, are recruited for overseas employment by unlicensed individuals or licensed recruitment agencies that commit illegal acts.

 

 

 

 

Eala bows out of HK Tennis Open

 

Alex Eala congratulates Victoria Mboko after their game

Alex Eala bowed out of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open tonight at Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, after a hard-fought match with Canadian Victoria Mboko, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The match was not decided until the last set, in which Eala led initially at 4-1, before the third-seed Mboko fired serves at up to 180 kilometers per hour to level up and wrap up the game. 

No point in the game was more bitterly fought than the second point in the last set, where they had to fight through eight deuces, before Mboko committed a double fault with Eala on advantage and ended up trailing, 2-0.

Basahin ang detalye!

Mboko, who at 19 is already ranked 21 in the Women’s Tennis Association roll of players against 20-year-old Eala’s 51, said in a post-game on-court interview: “I had to fight for every point.”

Interviewed later, Mboko added: “It was a difficut match. She was a great player.” 

She acknowledged turning to her coach every now and then for comfort during the tough parts of the match, made more stressful by the boisterous support given to Eala by the predominantly Filipino audience but said she took no offence for that.

She also said it was difficult beating a friend, disclosing that she and Eala would sometimes go out together during tournaments, for something as simple as buying bubble iced tea.

Mboko now advances to the quarterfinals where she will face Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, who beat Zhang Shuai of China, 6-1, 6-1.

For her part, Eala said, “I’m happy with how I performed. I gave her a run for her money.” 

Again, she thanked all the Filipinos who showed her love and support during her games, and said she is happy and proud of what she has achieved in the sport in the past few months.

"Having put up such a good performance, I was just overwhelmed with emotions, happiness and gratitude for everything that's happened to me this year," she said.

Eala said she it is too early to say if she would be back in Hong Kong next year, but she has enjoyed her stay here because everyone has been welcoming, not just the Filipinos but also the locals.

Pinay gets 3-month suspended sentence for theft

 

Bank where incident took place (Google Maps photo)

A 68-year-old Filipina was convicted today of theft for taking an iPad left on top of an ATM machine, but will not spend a day of her three-month jail sentence unless she commits another offense within 18 months.

J. Ong was meted the suspended jail sentence after a one-day trial today at Eastern Court before Magistrate Tobias Cheng.

Magistrate Cheng noted that evidence such as a CCTV footage and testimonies from two witnesses pointed to her guilt.

Ong had earlier pleaded not guilty to taking the iPad left by a man on an ATM machine at the Bank of China branch on 1 Wyndham Street in Central at about 2am on Oct 15, 2024, and mistakenly passed on to her by another person. 

Basahin ang detalye!

Ong testified that she took a taxi after leaving the bank but realized she had forgotten her handbag, so she asked to be driven back to recover it. 

She said she reached the bank as the other woman was leaving, and told her she was the owner of the handbag. The woman also gave her the iPad.

Magistrate Cheng gave credence to her testimony where she claimed to have taken home the iPad instead of giving it to a guard, to make sure that it was safe as she would return it to the owner herself.

However, he disregarded her claim that she was unable to return the iPad immediately because she was sickly and had to work at a Lan Kwai Fong resto-bar. 

Ong claimed she had forgotten all about it until a police officer called her three months later to inquire if she found the gadget, which she had kept inside her wardrobe.

The owner testified that the three-year-old iPad was never used and was in the same condition as when he left it on the ATM machine after withdrawing money.

Filipina injured with elderly woman in stove blast

 

The stove blast caused fire to the kitchen of a flat in World-Wide Gardens in Shatin

A 70-year-old local woman and a 34-year-old Filipino domestic worker were taken to hospital Tuesday night after being injured in a cooking stove explosion in a flat at World-Wide Gardens in Sha Tin.

Police received a report from a 43-year-old man at about 7:30pm, saying the cooking stove had exploded and caused fire in his house.

Rescuers found the elderly woman with back and leg injuries, while the helper suffered wounds to her face hands and feet. Both were conscious when taken to Prince of Wales Hospital.

Basahin ang detalye!

Firefighters who put down the fire found a gas leak in the stove’s pipeline, but no signs of foul play. The fire was confined to the kitchen.

Officers at the Migrant Workers Office contacted by The SUN say they have yet to be notified about the incident but will try to immediately check on the Filipino worker’s condition.

DH jailed 16 months for ‘laundering’ $1.9m

 

A domestic helper has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for allowing her bank account to be used in laundering some $1.9 million in money derived from crime.

Leny Rose Regulacion, 38, received the jail sentence from Magistrate Ko Wai-hung in a hearing Tuesday (Oct. 28) at Eastern Court.

Regulacion had pleaded guilty a week earlier, but her sentencing was put off by Principal Magistrate David Cheung, who was then presiding, after her lawyer asked for leniency because of the delay in her prosecution. 

Magistrate Cheung acknowledged that Regulacion was arrested in July 2022 and was only charged three years later, in July 2025. 

But he said delay itself is not a mitigation unless it made Regulacion’s prosecution unfair. He gave the defense one week to provide a written reason why a delay in her prosecution should be accepted as basis for leniency.

Basahin ang detalye!

In sentencing, Magistrate Ko who took over the case used 24 months’ jail as starting point, and deducted one third for Regulacion’s guilty plea, to arrive at the final sentence of 16 months.

Regulacion was charged with dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence, contrary to sections 25(1) and 25(3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

The case arose from the deposits and withdrawals of a total of $1,900,359.01 from her account in Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, between Oct. 12, 2020 and April 22, 2021.