by Leo A. Deocadiz
A Filipina who has worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong for 35 years finally understood how she got involved in a $533,000 money-laundering case, to which she pleaded guilty last April 1 and for which she was sentenced today to seven months’ imprisonment.
Susana Echevaria, 57 years old, told the Eastern Court principal
magistrate, Don So, in the earlier hearing that she did not know why she was
charged on two counts of “dealing with property known or believed to represent
proceeds of indictable crime,” in violation of the Organized and Serious Crimes
Ordinance.
In response, Magistrate So put off her sentencing and ordered a background check to find out how her two bank accounts ended up being used for laundering a total of $533,000.
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
Her defense lawyer, in mitigation, sought leniency, noting
that in her 35 years in Hong Kong, she had managed to have a clean record, providing
for her family and elderly parents.
He explained in today’s hearing that her Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corp. and Hang Seng Bank accounts became involved in money laundering
when she obtained a loan of $10,000 and was required to leave her ATM cards and
PIN as collaterals.
Her HSBC account subsequently ended up receiving $413,000.21
in deposits of crime money that became “clean” money when withdrawn between the
16th and 29th of August 2019, for which she was sentenced to seven months in prison.
She was sentenced to six months fo the second charge, in
which her Hang Seng Bank account had deposits and withdrawals totalling $120,000 between the 4th and 13th of
September 2019.
But since Magistate So ordered that the two sentences run at
the same tine, the total sentence was seven months.
