The SUN HK : ‘Forgetful” Filipina fined $1,200 for shop theft

19 March 2019

By Vir B. Lumicao

Eastern Court building in Sai Wan Ho

Yolanda Fernandez placed some grocery items she bought for herself in a recyclable bag, separate from goods she purchased for her employer in the same Wellcome Supermarket branch in Siu Sai Wan on Oct 19 last year.

Then she went to the cashier and paid only for her employer’s purchase.

She paid dearly for that momentary lapse.

For “forgetting” to pay for the other goods, she was found guilty of theft on Mar 19 and fined $1,200 by Eastern Court Magistrate Vivian Ho.

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The magistrate said Fernandez, 49, entered the supermarket at 8:50am and was seen by a shop manager taking some utilities and food items from the racks and putting these in her recyclable bag. Then she bought items for her employer.

The maid then went to the cashier and paid for the employer’s goods but left without paying for those in her recyclable bag.

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The manager stopped Fernandez outside the shop and found a toothpaste, two toothbrushes, an electronic toothbrush, a can of coffee powder, a pack of cheese, four packs of chocolate, and a pack of pork ribs, all without a purchase receipt.

When she was questioned in the manager’s office, the Filipina said she had money but had forgotten to pay for those goods.

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The defendant said she realized this only when she noticed outside the shop that her bag was heavy. She was about to go back and pay for the goods when the manager accosted her.

Her counsel assigned by the Duty Lawyer Service said during trial that her client might have become forgetful due to long hours of work and insufficient rest.

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He said it had been Fernandez’s practice, as many domestic workers do, to put items they buy for themselves in a recyclable shoulder bag to separate these from their employers’ purchases. He said the woman had money to pay for the goods worth $545.

The magistrate, however, said the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Fernandez was guilty, and fined her $1,200.

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