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| La Marina, where the offense allegedly took place (Google Maps photo) |
A Filipina was today found guilty of voyeurism after trial at Eastern Court and was sentenced to 14 days’ jail, but she is appealing the magistrate’s decision.
Geraldine M. Albarico a 42-year-old wife and mother, is on bail of $2,500 wn by Magistrate Wat, who gave more weight to the claim of X, a local housewife, that her domestic helper Albarico had secretly took a photo of her while she was taking a bath after a drunken spree and sent it to her Philippine number.
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The charge sheet said the voyeurism, an act contrary to
section 159AAB (1) and (3) of the Crimes Ordinance, happened on an unknown date
between Sept 1, 2023 and Feb 25, 2024 inside the bathroom of a flat in La
Marina, Aberdeen.
X said she came to know about the photo, which was taken
with a phone they used for family chats and showed one of X's breasts as she
lay in the bathtub, only when she began scrolling through the photos in the
phone about four to five months after sacking the helper.
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On cross-examination, Albrarico’s lawyer put it to X that no
such photo existed because if it did, she would have shown it to the police
when she filed her complaint against her former maid.
“You did not take it to the police because such a photo did
not exist,” said the lawyer. “Either you’re making things up or your memory was
bad.” X disagreed.
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The court heard that there were about 500 photos in the
family phone, mostly showing Albarico
washing X’s hair and applying oil on her scalp, as well as performing
“gua sha” – a traditional Chinese method of healing that involves scraping the
skin – on the employer.
The lawyer also suggested to X that the reason she made up
the allegation was because Albarico refused to sign another contract with her,
despite her salary being raised from $6,000 to $6,500 a month. When she
declined to renew, X terminated their contract with only two months to go.
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Albarico, who by then had found another employer, was about
to fly back to the Philippines for a short vacation to attend her son’s
graduation when she was detained at Hong Kong Airport as a result of X’s complaint.
