Maid gets suspended jail sentence despite paying back $26k fraudulent loan

 By Vir B. Lumicao

 

The court heard the Filipina had more than paid back the $26k loan she got

A Filipina helper who admitted using her invalid work contract to obtain a $26,000 loan that she had more than repaid was sentenced to two months in jail, suspended for 12 months, after a  hearing today, Sept 17, at Kowloon City court.

G. Acosta, 32, was spared jail time by Magistrate Ada Yim after considering her guilty plea, her having paid back more than the actual loan amount, and her clear record.

The Filipina, who was accompanied to the court by her current Japanese female employer, was calm and composed when Yim announced her sentence, which meant she would serve her jail sentence if she re-offends within the next 12 months.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

 

Her court-appointed lawyer had said in mitigation that Acosta’s employer supported her and would continue to employ her.

The prosecution said the maid took out the loan from Prime Credit on Mar 14 last year and used as proof of income her work contract that was no longer valid because she was terminated two weeks earlier, or on Feb 28, 2019.

Acosta paid the financing company $2,203 in March 2019 for the first monthly installment, then disappeared the next month.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Following an investigation, her case was reported to the police, who put her on the wanted list for fraud.

Acosta was arrested in February this year when she went to Shatin Magistracy to give evidence in a common assault case. The court found out she was wanted for fraud.

The prosecution said by May 2019, Acosta’s loan had grown to $32,000 including penalties.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

In mitigation, the defense counsel said Acosta, who is married and has a 12-year-old son, borrowed money in the Philippines to pay her employment agency before she came to Hong Kong in late 2018 to work as a domestic helper.

She took out a loan from Prime so she could repay what she owed back home.

Acosta’s counsel begged for leniency, saying she had pleaded guilty and already paid $27,530 of the loan and that her new employer had promised to continue employing her.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

The prosecutor confirmed that the defendant had already paid Prime Credit $29,530.

Yim noted the grounds for mitigation in sentencing but warned the defendant not to commit any offense within the next 12 months, or the jail sentence would be activated and added to the penalty for her new offense.  

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS