The first, Rema B. Cacabelos, was sentenced to a total of seven months in jail for a variety of offences, including drug possession and overstaying.
The second, Judy V. Bautista, was jailed for two months for possessing a live bullet, and seven months’ jail suspended for two years, for overstaying.
Cacabelos pleaded guilty to a charge of possessingf 2.67 grams of methamphetamine. She also pleaded guilty to a charge of breach of condition of stay for overstaying for about two-and-a-half years, and to a charge of possession of equipment intended for inhaling dangerous drugs.
Eastern Court magistrate Lee Siu-ho sentenced her to six months in jail for drug possession and three months for possession of equipment fit for inhaling drugs, both to run concurrently.
Cacabelos also received a two-month sentence for overstaying for more than two years. Lee said the first month would be served concurrently with the first sentence, thus bringing the total sentence to seven months.
The case report says the two Filipinas were arrested in a flat on Hennessy Road, Wanchai at 12:06am on Nov 12 last year during a police operation.
Armed with a search warrant, the officers raided the flat and found the drugs in two plastic bags. When police checked a cupboard, they found two test tubes and two glass beakers, one of which contained 1 milligram of methamphetamine.
The officers also discovered that the two women had overstayed a 14-day visa extension granted to them by the Immigration Department after their employment contracts were prematurely terminated by their employer.
Cacabelos arrived in Hong Kong on Apr 12, 2013 to work as a domestic helper but was dismissed at an unspecified date before her two-year contract expired. Bautista came here on May 21, 2014 but was fired on Jul 10 last year.
Police arrested the two and took them to the station, where the unspent bullet was found in Bautista’s pocket. During investigation, she said the bullet was given to her by her mother, a former domestic worker in Hong Kong, as an amulet to ward off evil spirits. – Vir B. Lumicao
