By Daisy CL Mandap
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| The Filipina's real identity is still being established even after she admitted overstaying since 2004 |
A Filipina tourist who does not have a passport and whose
identity could therefore not be verified, was back in
The case of the accused who goes by the name Emelita Arista, 61, was found to have overstayed her visa as a tourist for 13 years when arrested in February 2017 for an unrelated charge of theft, appears to continue to baffle court officers.
Prosecutors told Magistrate Peter Law that no result was reached in the hearing of her case at the High Court last Friday, Sept. 23, and asked for an adjournment.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Law approved the application and adjourned the case to Dec 28 this year, and extended Arista’s bail of $1,000 under the same conditions.
Back on Mar 11, 2017, when Arista was sentenced to four weeks in jail on a shoplifting charge, Magistrate Bina Chainrai was incensed when told that the second charge of overstaying could not be disposed of yet because the Filipina had applied for non-refoulement.
At the time, Arista claimed that a nephew of hers in the
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
But Chainrai got upset on hearing this, saying the Filipina had abused the system by applying for non-refoulement immediately after she was arrested in February 2017, for the thefts.
“After the defendant was arrested in 2017 only did she become an asylum-seeker?” Chainrai asked angrily then.
“In this situation, the prosecution must revisit her case. If somebody overstays for 13 years and applies for asylum after being arrested, it is an abuse of the system, especially when there are so many others with more valid reasons,” she added.
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Though Arista was ordered jailed immediately, she was allowed to post bail after serving her short sentence while awaiting the outcome of her torture claim.
During the earlier hearing, prosecutors said Arista was not
detected as an overstayer earlier as Immigration authorities could not
determine her true identity and the exact date when she came to
But they earlier said the Filipina had come in on a visitor’s visa, and did not leave despite being told she could stay only on or before April 10, 2004.
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| Press for details |
When Chainrai asked Arista if that was her first visit to
Hong Kong, she said no, saying she had worked here as a domestic helper for six
years before going home. But she confirmed she came to
It was not made clear how she lost her passport.
Her overstaying offence came to light only on Feb. 19, 2017, when she was caught trying to sneak out of a Wellcome supermarket in Quarry Bay after stealing three bottles of lotion and three cans of luncheon meat.
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| BASAHIN ANG DETALYE |
She was first taken to court on Feb 21, 2017 and charged with one count of theft and one count of breaching her condition of stay.
She pleaded guilty to the theft charge and was sentenced on
Mar 11 of the same year. She should have been arraigned on the immigration
breach the following month, but that was halted by her non-refoulement
application.
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PADALA NA!
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