The case of a former domestic helper who has been accused of inducing the abortion of her baby and throwing it in a rubbish bin in North Point will be moved to the District Court later this month.
Maribel David, 37, appeared in Eastern Court on May 3 to hear the prosecution lawyer apply for the transfer of her case to the District Court in preparation for a trial.
The prosecutor applied for an adjournment of the hearing until May 17 for the transfer of records of the case. She also reiterated the prosecution’s objection to granting David bail.
In a hearing on Jan 18, David had applied for bail but the prosecution opposed it, citing the gravity of the offense.
Magistrate Bina Chainrai David adjourned the hearing until May 17 and ordered David remanded in custody.
A charge has yet to be filed against David for allegedly overstaying in Hong Kong when her domestic worker visa expired in June 2014.
Police arrested David on Jan 6 after she sought treatment in a hospital after feeling unwell inside her boarding house on the second floor of the State Theatre building on King’s Road. A neighbor called police and she was rushed to Pamela Youde Nethersole Hospital in Chai Wan where it was discovered that she had just given birth.
On questioning she said she had induced her baby’s birth, then dumped the newborn into a trash bin near City Garden on Electric Road.
The baby’s body was never found despite a diligent search. – Vir B. Lumicao
