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| The judge noted that the trial magistrate spent a long time analyzing the theft case |
A Filipina resident jailed for five months for theft for keeping
$28,000 in collected fees to a kindergarten operator on Lantau Island
Marivee Alconaba, who was found guilty on Aug 12 by a
magistrate in West Kowloon Court
Alconaba was represented by a solicitor from S.C. Ho &
Co. who challenged the magistrate’s verdict that found her guilty of the
charge.
The court was told that Alconaba had been entrusted by the school
operator, Mr Muhammed, to accept payments and deposit these to his bank
account.
But on Sept 18 last year, the day she was supposed to take
the money to the bank, she had to go to hospital for a scheduled Caesarian
section.
Had the magistrate considered the possibility that Alconaba would
turn in the money but could not deposit it right away could have led to
acquittal, the lawyer said.
She said there was no evidence the woman had the intention
to keep the money and that the prosecution was not able to prove guilt beyond
reasonable doubt.
The lawyer said also said her client had worked one full
year at the school and won the operator’s trust. She added that her client was
now applying for bail as she was worried she would have served out her sentence
before her appeal is heard.
Judge D’Almada said that Alconaba should have gone to the
bank to deposit the money first before going to the hospital. She also asked why
the appellant kept the money at home for two months.
The prosecutor, for her part, commented that all the
evidence gathered during the investigation showed that there was no genuine
intention or guarantee that Alconaba would return the money.
Judge D’Almada noted that the Filipina’s case was a simple
theft, but it had taken the magistrate 51 pages to state his verdict after thoroughly
analyzing all the evidence gathered.
The judge said after considering the magistrate’s careful
analysis of the case, she did not see any chance of success for an appeal. She
thus rejected the bail application.
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