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| Tuen Mun Court |
A 20-second video of intimate images of a woman, published as revenge after an earlier dispute, has resulted in a Filipina domestic helper being jailed for four months.
Merlita Banquil, 37 years old, received the sentence calmly
at a hearing today at Tuen Mun Court as Acting Principal Magistrate Daniel Tang
gave her credit for pleading guilty: a one-third discount from a starting point
of six months.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
She had earlier pleaded guilty to publication of intimate
images without consent on April 24, 2025, contrary to section 159AAM (1) and
(5) of the Crimes Ordinance.
The complaint filed by Tuen Mun Police accused Banquil of publishing
“an intimate image of female X, and you intended the publication to cause
humiliation, alarm or distress to X or knew or was reckless as to whether the
publication would or was likely to cause humiliation, alarm or distress X, and
no consent was given by X to the publication, and you disregarded whether X
consented to the publication.”
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
In mitigation, her lawyer said the offense was one off, which
she realized she should not have done, and for which she was sorry.
He added that her employer was willing to rehire her after
she finishes her sentence.
