DMW says Filipinos who take part in scams must be held accountable

 

Repatriation last January of Filipinos rescued from scam hubs in Cambodia 

The Department of Migrant Workers has said that Filipinos who knowingly participate in scams and other illegal activities must be held accountable under the law.

"Hindi natin kukunsintihin ang sinumang Pilipinong sadyang nakikilahok sa mga ilegal na scam operation. Dapat managot sa batas ang mga mapapatunayang sangkot dito,”said DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac in a statement.

(We will not tolerate any Filipino who knowingly participates in any scam operation. Everyone who is found to have participated in the illegal operations must answer to the law).

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He made his statement as news from Cambodia revealed that 28 Filipinos have been detained in Sihanoukville and charged with felonies for their alleged involvement in organized crime, which is penalized with imprisonment for between 5 to 10 years.

Another 23 Filipinos linked to scam operations were detained in Battambang to face misdemeanor charges which carry possible prison terms of two to five years.

MWO officials and Cambodia lawyers tapped to help the detained Filipinos

At the same time, Cacdac said it is important to determine and protect those who were defrauded, tricked or trafficked, and forced to participate in the illegal activities.

“Sisiguruhin nating igagalang ang karapatan ng bawat isa sa due process, at sisiguruhin ang non-punishment principle kung ang Filipino ay isang biktima ng trafficking.”

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(We will respect the right to due process of everyone, and ensure that the no-punishment principle is upheld for victims of trafficking).

The report on the arrests and detention of the 51 Filipinos across Cambodia were presented by Undersecretary Darlene Pajarito to Secretary Cacdac and other senior DMW officials.

The report also stated that the Migrant Workers Office in Cambodia and its legal retainer, HBS Law Firm had ensured that the detainees were subjected to pre-trial proceedings.

A Cambodian court is expected to decide on Dec.6 whether to proceed to trial or dismiss the charges.

 

Pinay jailed 4 months for stealing $40K

 

The theft took place in one of the flats here (Google Maps photo)

Another domestic helper has been jailed for stealing from her employer.

Ma. Geralyn Frias, 42 years old, admitted stealing HK$40,000 in cash when she appeared on Wednesday (November 4) before Magistrate Gary Chu at Eastern Court.

Magistrate Chu formally convicted her of theft, contrary to section 9 of the Theft Ordinance. He also said the case is serious, as it involved a breach of trust, and pointed out that the money taken was eight times more than Frias' $5,000 monthly salary.

He chose a starting point of six months imprisonment, and deducted one third for Frias’ guilty plea.     

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Frias had been charged with stealing the cash, owned by her employer Danny Fong, between May and September this year at their flat at Mei Wah Court, South Horizons.

The cash was kept in a cabinet inside the master bedroom. Her employer discovered the loss when he checked. When confronted about the loss, she admitted stealing the money.

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Her lawyer said she spent the money on food, clothing and support for an extended family in the Philppines.

When the employer asked for compensation, the lawyer said Frias could not pay back but could only apologize for what she did.

Free consultation on Phl and HK laws to be held anew on Nov 29

 

The deadline for the registration to the event is on Nov 25

The Consulate General of the Philippines in Hong Kong will again hold a free legal consultation for Filipinos in Hong Kong on November 29, Sunday, from 10am to 4:30pm at the OFW Global Center on the 18^th floor of United Centre Building in Admiralty.

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Those with questions or concerns relating to Philippine and Hong Kong laws are welcome to attend the consultation but they need to sign up for the available slots.

The Consulate will accept only 40 participants – 20 in the morning session and another 20 in the afternoon session.

Schedule of the day-long legal consultation

The second edition of this year’s “Idulog mo kay Atorni” series will be held in cooperation with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines CALMANA Chapter which will advise on Philippine law-related concerns  and Pro Bono Hong Kong, which will respond to queries on Hong Kong laws.

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Those who wish to take part may register until Nov. 25 via this link: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdspZ12rz7AAO.../viewform

Former DH jailed 21 months for money laundering

 

A former domestic helper whose bank account was used to launder an initially estimated $5.1 million, one of the biggest sums involving a Filipino, was sentenced today to 21 months in prison after she pleaded guilty at the District Court.

District Judge Isaac Tam convicted Jereza Baylon, 45 years old and unemployed, of conspiring to deal with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence, contrary to section 25(1) and (3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, and sections 159A and 159C of the Crimes Ordinance.

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The District Court charge filed by the Justice Department did not specify the amount involved, referring only to “property, namely money deposited or to be deposited in Standard Chartered Bank (Hong grounds Leto Kong) Limited….”

The charge placed the conspiracy between July 1 and October 25, 2023.

When the complaint was filed originally by Tai Po police last year at Fanling Court, it was alleged that Baylon handled $5,144,271:3 in her account with Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.

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It said she let the transactions in her bank account took place “knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that property… in whole or in part directly or indirectly represented any person's proceeds of an indictable offence.”

When the case was elevated to the District Court, the charge was amended to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Buhay is laid to rest

 

A moving funeral mass was said for Buhay at St John's by two pastors who knew her well
(photo from Eman Villanueva)

Migrant rights advocate Esther “Buhay” Bangcawayan was laid to rest Monday morning, after a moving funeral mass held at St John’s Cathedral in Central, with Rev Canon Dwight dela Torre and Rev Dr Philip Wickeri officiating.

About 100 mourners from the Filipino community, non-government organizations and other sectors attended the mass, which was followed by the cremation of her remains at Cape Collinson in Chai Wan.

Buhay passed on October 14, aged 66, after a long battle with colon cancer.

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In his homily, Rev Wickeri extolled Buhay’s tireless service to the migrant community for more than 40 years, and quoted extensively from a posted tribute from her friend and fellow migrant rights activist Eman Villanueva.

Eman said Buhay’s advocacy began when she became a founding member and leader of the Asian Domestic Workers Union, composed of domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India.

Later she organized migrant workers in South Korea and Macau as part of her work with the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant Workers, and those in Hong Kong through the Filipino Migrant Workers Union chapter on Chater Road which she co-founded.

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Apart from her organizing work, she was also a case officer at the Mission for Migrant Workers and a full-time staff member of the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, where she assisted distressed migrant workers.

“For many of us, Buhay was a migrant leader, an organizer, a case officer, and a trainer all rolled into one — a true migrant activist and internationalist who dedicated most of her life to the service of others, irrespective of nationality,” said Eman.

Fr Dwight delivering a eulogy for Buhay at the funeral parlor

Earlier, a wake for Buhay was held over two days at the Universal Funeral Parlor in Hung Hom, where various friends and fellow activists joined her family in paying tribute to her lifelong service to the migrant community in Hong Kong.

Cynthia Tellez, general manager of the Mission, spoke of why she would never forget Buhay and her passion for helping the distressed and the disadvantaged

“I remember you, Buhay, when you cried with a client over a lost case. I remember when you hesitated climbing up the stairs of Bethune House, hating on a case of ill-treatment. I remember you spending long hours speaking to a client…I remember you, Buhay.”

Fellow activists say final goodbye to Buhay before her cremation

Speaking on behalf of Buhay’s family was her niece, who poignantly pointed out that her aunt’s Hong Kong friends knew more about her as she spent more than half of her life overseas.

“I envy you because you stayed with her and you knew her better than us,” she said. But she added that her family was pleased to hear of her aunt being described as a “lifeline to others,” as this indicated that like other migrant advocates abroad, Buhay was willing to sacrifice her personal happiness to be of service to others.

People closest to Buhay, including her family members, gather post-cremation

Several Bethune House clients who developed a more personal relationship with Buhay as she lived with them in the shelter, including a survivor of the massive Tai Po fire last year, were beside themselves with grief in talking about how she had given them comfort and strength, even as she faced her own devastating battle with cancer.

 

Eala opens HK campaign with emphatic win

 

Alexandra Eala waves to the crowd after beating Emerson Jones in straight sets 

Second-seed Alexandra Eala tonight opened her campaign in the Hong Kong Tennis Open, her last tournament of the year, by beating Emerson Jones of Australia in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

“Super happy to be here in Hong Kong, super happy with the performance,” Eala said, while acknowledging the hundreds of fans in Center Court of Victoria Park, many of them Filipinos who had flown in just to watch her play.

Emerson who is ranked World No 132, had earlier lost in the elimination round and was a last -minute substitute for World No. 59 Alycia Parks, who injured a shoulder.

Interviewed after the game, Eala said she’s not used to one’s opponent changing that late, “but I guess  that’s the tournament and you have to be ready for anything.”

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The 21-year-old Filipina, egged on by a mostly-Filipino crowd at center court, raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set before letting the 18-year-old Australian break her serve and score her first point.  

When it looked like Jones would equalize, scoring 4-3, Eala unleashed the first of her three aces of the game, 5-3.

Jones managed to score a point despite a double fault, 5-4, but Eala closed out the set with steady ground strokes.

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In the second set, both players held serve for their first point, but Eala scored four succeeding points to lead. 5-1.

After Jones clawed back two points, Eala ended the game with an ace, 6-3. The match was over in just one hour and 23 minutes.

Ex-DH sentenced to 6 weeks in jail for theft of $20K

 

The theft took place in this development (photo: Google Maps)

A former domestic helper was jailed today for six weeks after pleading guilty at Eastern Court to stealing $20,000 in cash from a co-worker in her former employer's house. 

Relyn Bofil, 45 years old, had been charged with theft, contrary to section 9 of the Theft Ordinance

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Bofil admitted stealing the from her co-worker Sybelle Marie Lasquite in a flat in Dynasty Court on Old Peak Road in Hong Kong last March 1. She fled to the Philippines, but was arrested on her return to Hong Kong last October 2.

Magistrate Edward Wong cited breach of trust for sentencing her to an initial period of nine months, which he reduced by one third because of Bofil’s guilty plea.

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Meanwhile, at Kwun Tong Court, Acting Principal Magistrate Li Chi-ho imposed a fine of $1,000 on domestic helper M. Mabao, 28 years old, for stealing two boxes of red tea valued at HK$78, the property of Best Mart 360 Holdings Limited.

The theft took place last September 5, at a Food Ville shop at The Lohas in Lohas Park, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories.

Filipino tourist found with 6 kilos of suspected cocaine

 

This cocaine haul has a market vaue of $3.6 million

A 22-year-old Filipina who flew in from Phnom Penh, Cambodia on October 31 was arrested on arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport after 6 kilos of suspected cocaine was found inside her check-in suitcase.

The drugs have an estimated market value of about HK$3.6 million.

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A government said the cocaine was discovered after the woman was stopped for customs clearance.

The woman will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates today, Monday, charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug.

The drug route and the kind of drug seized varies from the usual cases involving Filipino tourists arriving in Hong Kong recently. Most of those stopped at HK Airport in recent months had flown in from Bangkok, Thailand, carrying with them several kilos of suspected cannabis or marijuana buds.

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Customs says it will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities using intelligence analysis.

Travelers or residents are strongly advised not to engage in drug trafficking activities for monetary return, as the offence is punished with stiff prison sentences in Hong Kong. They must not carry unknown items for other people, in and out of Hong Kong.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, the  maximum penalty for trafficking in drugs is life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.

Any suspected drug trafficking activities should be reported to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

2 elderly women among 10 arrested in anti-illegal work raids

 

Immigration officers show items seized during the raids

Eight women, including one who is 63 years old, were among 10 people arrested in the latest anti-illegal work operations led by Immigration Department Officers.

DETAILS HERE

Two of the women were also found to hold recognizance forms which allow them to remain in Hong Kong to pursue asylum, but not to take on any job, paid or unpaid.

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One other person, a man aged 26,  was found to have overstayed, while another, also a 63-year-old woman, was suspected of employing the illegal workers.

The territory-wide arrests were made from October 23 to 29, in an operation that targeted multiple locations, including restaurants, flats under renovation and massage parlors.

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A statement from Immigration said an investigation is continuing into the suspected illegal work, which could lead to more arrests.

The statement also repeated the warning that illegal work amounts to violation of condition of stay, which is punishable with up to two years in prison and HK$50,000 in fine.

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If the offender is an overstayer, recognizance paper holder and illegal immigrant, the maximum jail term is three years.

Employers face the stiffer penalty of up to 10 years in jail and a maximum fine of HK$500,000.

Employment agent acquitted of conspiracy to defraud

 

Shatin Court

An employment agent accused of conspiring with a visa applicant to defraud the Immigration Department, has been acquitted by the Shatin Court which declared that she had no case to answer after the testimony of a woman she was accused of conspiring with.

Kathleen Emily Vizcarra, 36 years old, had been charged with violation of Common Law and punishable under section 1590(6) of the Crimes Ordinance.

Magistrate Raymond Wong stopped the trial after the testimony of Anabelle Waguis, 44 years old, who said she was assisted by Vizcarra when she applied for an employment visa under a new employer between August 2022 and October 12, 2025.

DETAILS HERE

She testified that Vizcarra was wearing a face mask the whole time, and saw only her eyes and forehead, thus raising doubts about how she could positively identify her.

Magistrate Wong also found no evidence of conspiracy in Waguis’ testimony. He told Vizcarra: “There’s nothing you have done to cause suspicion” of irregularity

Vizcarra had been charged with conspiring with Waguis, , who had earlier pleaded guilty in a separate but related case, to defraud the Director of Immigration and his officers, by dishonestly and falsely representing that Waguis entered into a domestic helper contract with Ng Yuk Man.

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The misrepresentation induced the Immgration officers “to act contrary to their public duty, namely to grant (Waguis) permission to enter and remain in Hong Kong in circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted.”

Last July 15, Shatin Court’s Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong postponed the sentencing of Waguis for overstaying and lying to the Immigration Department to obtain an employment visa, to allow her to help authorities in prosecuting people who helped her commit the offenses.

Waguis had earlier pleaded guilty to breach of condition of stay contrary to section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance, and making a false statement for the purpose of obtaining an entry permit contrary to section 42(1) (c) of the Immigration Ordinance.

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After being detained for six months after her arrest in October 2025. she was released on bail of $5,000 last March, and has since stayed at a shelter for OFWs in Taipo.  

Magistrate Cheang extended her bail and adjourned the case for sentencing.

Waguis was charged by the Immigration Department with overstaying between July 6, 2023 and October 12, 2025.

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She had been permitted to land in Hong Kong by an Immigration officer with a condition that limited her stay in Hong Kong until September 22, 2022 or two weeks after termination of contract, whichever is earlier.

The second charge involved Waguis lying to Immigration on September 19, 2022 in Hong Kong for the purpose of obtaining an entry visa to Hong Kong to take up employment as a domestic helper.

In her visa application, she stated that she was going to work for Ng Yuk Man as a domestic helper, which was not true.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on November 12.  She is on bail of $5,000. 

Search on for women softball players as longtime team captain bows out

 

Fate's late team manager Law Wai Ho with his 'babies', including Don (beside him, with glasses)

The manager of the all-Filipino softball team in Hong Kong is looking for new players to join the upcoming league season of the HK China Softball Association which starts middle of next month.

The announcement came as Don Gaborno, co-founder, team captain and star player of the Fate softball team that was formed 14 years ago, announced her decision to take a break from the sport, citing exhaustion and a lack of incentive to carry on.

DETAILS HERE

The search for new players was announced by Pamela, daughter of Gaborno’s co-founder and Fate’s beloved manager Law Wai Ho, who passed on in June 2022.

The team is now looking for pitchers, catchers, and all other positions that Filipinos or other non-local players may fill. But they must commit to joining weekend league games and team practices at their home pitch at Tin Kwong Road, or occasionally in Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon.

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Those interested should contact Coach David through his WhatsApp number: 91893848, or by email at davidwong2006@gmail.com.

Since its founding in December 2012, and with Law Wai Ho’s moral and financial support, Fate quickly managed to get into the Hong Kong Softball Association League, and won many of its games that it eventually joined the elite Bracket A category.

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Law is remembered fondly by his Fate “babies”for not only paying for the team’s uniform, equipment and registration fee to the HKSA annual league, but for always making an effort to be with them during their Sunday trainings and games.

Convicted drug trafficker gets another 3 months for theft

 

Kowloon City Court

A Filipina asylum-seeker who had just been sentenced by the High Court to 20 years and eight months for drug trafficking, was given an additional jail term of three months on Friday (October 30) for stealing a moble phone.

Rosita Palao, 56 years old, was convicted of theft, contrary to section 9 of the Theft Ordinance, for stealing one mobile phone worth $11,269 on February 9, 2026, outside Isquare on Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.

Magistrate Claudia Ng said she finds no reason to deduct from the sentence she imposed on Palao, who had worked as a domestic helper for 15 years before overstaying and subsequently filing for non-refoulement, after a trial at Kowloon City Court.

The fact that she commited the theft while seeking non-refoulement, which seeks to prohibit Hong Kong from deporting her, is an aggravating factor because it breaches Hong Kong’s hospitality, the magistrate added.

DETAILS HERE

She ordered the new sentence to run after the High Court sentence runs out.

Last Wednesday, Palao was found guilty after trial for drug trafficking, for trying to pick up on May 15, 2023 a consignment of liquid cocaine that had been brought into Hong Kong by her American co-defendant Stephen Dickensheets, 68.

Dickensheets had flown into Hong Kong the day before from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Paris, France, with a check-in luggage containing 17 bed sheets soaked in liquid cocaine. He was arrested while undergoing secondary check at customs clearance.

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Customs originally put the amount of cocaine found in his possession to be 10 kilos, but the amount was downgraded to 1.5 kilos after extensive examination by the Government Laboratory. The street value of the haul was put at HK$1.9 million.

Because of his cooperation with the authorities which led to the arrest of Palao and a third defendant, Nigeria and Benin national Fousseni Orou Nicki, Dickensheets received a reduced sentence of 19 years and 8 months.

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Fousseni, also an asylum seeker, received the longest sentence of 21 years and 8 months, after the court found him to be the key player in the operation, having directed Palao to pick up the drugs from Dickensheets at a hotel in Tin Shui Wai.

Filipina asylum seeker, 2 others get 20 years' jail for drug trafficking

 

The cocaine-soaked bedsheets found in Dickensheets' luggage

A High Court judge has sentenced a 56-year-old Filipina asylum seeker to 20 years and 8 months in jail after she was found guilty after trial for drug trafficking, along with two others.

Rosita B. Palao who had worked as a domestic helper for 15 years before overstaying and subsequently filing for non-refoulement, was arrested on May 15, 2023 as she tried to pick up a consignment of liquid cocaine that had been brought into Hong Kong by her American co-defendant.

DETAILS HERE

United States national Stephen Dickensheets, 68, had flown into Hong Kong the day before from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Paris, France, with a check-in luggage containing 17 bed sheets soaked with the liquefied drug. He was arrested while undergoing secondary check at customs clearance.

Customs originally put the amount of cocaine found in his possession to be 10 kilos, but the amount was downgraded to 1.5 kilos after extensive examination by the Government Laboratory. The street value of the haul was estimated to be about HK$1.9 million.

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Because of his cooperation with the authorities which led to the arrest of Palao and a third defendant, Nigeria and Benin national Fousseni Orou Nicki, Dickensheets received a reduced sentence of 19 years and 8 months.

Fousseni, also an asylum seeker, received the longest sentence of 21 years and 8 months, after the court found him to be the key player in the operation.

He was arrested much later than the two, after police investigators traced him from the telephone number he used in directing Palao to pick up the drugs from Dickensheets at a hotel in Tin Shui Wai.

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All three denied any knowledge about the drugs haul.

Dickensheets told the court he thought he was meant to deliver only gifts, and did not know that the bed sheets in the suitcase that was passed on to him in Brazil contained drugs.

Palao said she merely volunteered to pick up Mother’s Day gifts, at the instruction of a Chinese person she only knew as “Tear,” who communicated with her only by telephone.

Fousseini who was granted leave last year to appeal Immigration’s rejection of his non-refoulement claim, denied being Tear, who directed Palao to pick up the drugs.

But law enforcers testified tracing the phone messages and calls made to Palao to Fousseni, who was also found to have been in regular contact with the Filipina since 2021.

In sentencing, Judge DÁlmada Remedios told Palao and Fousseni that they had betrayed the trust placed on them by the Hong Kong authorities by committing a serious crime while on recognizance, or while awaiting the result of their application for non-refoulement.

The international element of the offence that all the accused were found to have committed, also merited a more severe penalty.