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| Footbridge beside Worldwide House where Filipina was arrested (Google Maps photo) |
A Filipina who has overstayed for 27 years after she was terminated from her work as a domestic helper in 1996, was jailed for 12 months yesterday, July 16, after she pleaded guilty at Eastern Court.
Since Josephine Rescate, 63 years old, has been in jail for almost two years because the court has rejected her applications for bail in prevous hearings, she is expected to be formally released immediately and deported.
The hearing of her overstaying case had to be delayed after she requested that her application for non-refoulement, or against being sent back to the Philippines, be dealt with first.
Rescate was convicted of breach of condition of stay, in
violation of section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance, for overstaying her visa
since Sept. 29, 1996, or 14 days after she was terminated from her job as a
domestic helper.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Acting Principal Magistrate David
Cheung told her that she had overstayed for a substantial length of time and the
sentence was net of the one-third discount she was entitled to for pleading
guilty.
Rescate, who is an applicant for asylum as a torture claimant, has managed to remain underground until her arrest on Sept. 7, 2023 on the footbridge near Exit A of the Central MTR station and Worldwide House, during a routine police check.
