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| Carpiz sisters, Jojie and Marly |
Sentencing for two Filipina sisters who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder a total of HK$1.28 million through their bank accounts, was put off today after after the Eastern Court questioned their lawyer’s offer of $200,000 compensation in a check payable to the victim.
Jojie Carpiz, 49 years old, and Marly Carpiz, 51, who are housewives, pleaded guilty at Eastern
Court last April 24 to money laundering charges involving deposits and
withdrawals of crime proceeds into their respective bank accounts.
Principal Magistrate David Cheung said the proper procedure
is for compensation to be paid to the court, not to the victim directly. “Otherwise,
we will not know whether the payment is received or not,” he said.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
He thus adjourned the case to July 16 and set the compensation
amount to $200,000 from each of them. He released them on bail of $10,000 with
conditions such as not leaving Hong Kong and reporting to a nearby police
station twice weekly.
Magistrate Cheung clarified that the compensation is restitution
that will be part of the mitigation before he renders his sentence. “Will that
be their total obligation, including civil cIaims? The court has to know,” he
added.
Jojie and Marly face a charge of conspiracy to deal with
property, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the property
represented proceeds of an indictable offense, contrary to sections 25(1) and
(3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance and sections 159A and 159C of
the Crimes Ordinance.
Police accused them of conspiring in dealing with $600,750
in Jojie’s account with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
between the 24th and 27 of December 2019
Marly faces an additional charge of dealing with property
known or having reasonable grounds to believe that the property represented the
proceeds of an indictable offence, contrary to sections 25(1) and 25(3) of the
Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
She is accused of handling tainted money amounting to
$600,000 in her HSBC account on Dec. 27, 2019.
Their co-defendant, Purwati, 34 years old, was also charged with conspiracy to deal with crime-tainted property, namely $200,000 in her own HSBC account. Her case had earlier been already adjourned to June 29 for verdict.
