By The SUN
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| The alleged theft is said to have taken place on the 38th floor of this residential complex |
A Filipina domestic worker accused of stealing an assortment of jewelry from her employer estimated to be worth about $384,000 faces a more serious punishment after her case is elevated to the District Court on March 30.
Ligaya Ao-wat Banisal, 42, was told about the transfer
of her case to a higher court when she appeared in Kwun Tong magistracy today,
Mar. 9.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE! |
She was not asked to enter a plea and was remanded
in custody until her first appearance in the DC.
Banisal is accused of stealing about 40 pieces of
jewelry from her former employer, Hui Sau-ling in her flat on the 38th
floor of Hemera in Lohas Park, between about November 2021 and October 2022.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The amended charge sheet does not itemize the items
allegedly stolen, but in the earlier hearings of the case, these were described
as 18 gold bangles, 2 gold necklaces, 5 gold bracelets, 2 rings, 4 gold rings
and 9 necklaces.
Banisal was arrested from the employer’s home on
October 16 last year, and charged with one count of theft two days later.
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In earlier hearings, the court was told the prosecution
was still awaiting word on whether some of the jewelry that was lost could
still be redeemed from pawnshops where the accused had allegedly taken them.
Elevating a case from the magistracy to the District
Court indicates the alleged crime committed is more serious, and as a
consequence, the penalty to be imposed would likely be more severe.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye! |
If found guilty, a defendant in a criminal case
brought before the DC could be sentenced to between two and seven years in
jail.
However, the crime of theft itself is punishable by
up to ten years’ imprisonment.
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| PADALA NA! |
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