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| Place where alleged theft happened (Google Maps photo) |
by Leo A. Deocadiz
A Filipina was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail today for theft after an Eastern Court magistrate rejected her defense that she actually owned the gold ring and gold necklace worth $1,000 in total that she was alleged to have stolen from her employer.
But Lilibeth Fabros, 51 years old, indicated through her
duty lawyer that she would appeal the decision to the High Court, on the ground that Magistrate Frances Leung did not give proper weight to her testimony.
The lawyer explained that Magistrate Leung instead gave more
weight to the testimony of her alleged victim, Linda Chan, who claimed ownership
of the two items but testified that the last time she saw them was in 1982 or 43
years ago.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Fabros is accused of stealing the ring and necklace from her
employer at the latter’s flat in Dragon Garden, Tai Hang, on Nov. 15, 2021.
In the trial, Chan testified for the prosecution, along with
a policeman and the owner of a pawnshop in North Point, where the two items were
recovered by police.
“Her evidence is direct and fair. She has told us when and
where she put her jewelry,” Magistrate Leung said in her ruling. “I cannot imagine
why she would invent a story.”
She also found the two other witnesses honest and reliable.
On the other hand, Leung said she does not believe that Fabros was telling the truth when she claimed that she bought the two items at a bargain from a Filipino reseller in Central, packed in a resealable plastic bag, and had no receipt.
She noted that Fabros, who had a salary of $5,200 a month, testified
that she was in financial difficulty at that time and could not explain during
the trial how she could afford such a purchase.
With the appeal, Miss Leung allowed Fabros to post a bail
of $4,000, with conditions such as to stay in Hong Kong while the case is pending,
report to police regularly, stay in her present address and notify police in
advance if she is moving to a new address.
