A Filipina former domestic helper was jailed for eight weeks on Aug 24 by a Shatin Court magistrate for staying illegally in Hong Kong for three years and nine months.Dorotea Sadang, 48, pleaded guilty to a charge of “breach of condition of stay” when she appeared before Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan.
The prosecution said Sadang, a former domestic helper, was allowed by the Immigration authorities to stay until Oct 28, 2013. But after her visa expired, Sadang stayed illegally until she was arrested on Aug 21, the prosecution said.
In mitigation, the defense lawyer said Sadang tried to find an employer after she was fired by her employer in 2013.
When she failed to find one so she decided to remain in Hong Kong to work illegally because she had two daughters to support in the Philippines.
The lawyer pleaded for leniency for her client, saying she was remorseful and wanted to be reunited with her children.
But Lam only gave her the standard discount of eight weeks in prison for her guilty plea. – Vir B. Lumicao
