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Filipina locked up 8 months for stealing employer’s $138k jewelry

Posted on 17 October 2019 No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao

None of the $138,100 worth of stolen jewelry was recovered.

A Filipina helper who stole her employer’s Hermes watch and jewelry worth an estimated $138,100, has been sentenced to eight months in jail by an Eastern Court magistrate.

Jenny Lou Nualan, 33 and single, was sentenced by Magistrate Bina Chainrai on Oct 17 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of theft.

Nualan was originally charged on Oct 3 with theft of a Hermes watch, a bracelet, a pair of diamond earrings and a necklace belonging to her employer Wu Ping-yi between Apr 8, 2018 and Jan 31 this year.

But the prosecution split the charge into two, one stating the first offense took place between May 2017 and Sept 14, 2019 and the second between June 2016 and Sept 14.

The first charge covered Nualan's theft of a black Hermes watch valued at $74,500 and a gold Hermes bracelet worth $51,600. The second pertained to her stealing a pair of diamond earrings valued at $4,000 and a platinum necklace valued at $8,000.

The uninsured watch and jewelry were never recovered as their pawn tickets had either expired or been lost, the prosecution said.

Nualan started working at Wu's house at Tropicana Court in South Bay in June 2016.

On Sept 14, Wu discovered that her Hermes watch and Hermes bracelet were missing from an unlocked drawer in her bedroom, along with a pair of diamond earrings and the platinum necklace she kept in an unlocked drawer in her toilet.

Wu asked the maid about the missing items and Nualan admitted she had pawned them. The helper produced the pawn tickets for the watch, earrings and necklace. She said she had hocked the bracelet at Cheuk Fung Pawnshop but lost the pawn ticket.

The employer reported the theft to police on Sept 26. Nualan was arrested and she admitted stealing the four missing items out of greed, a prosecution report said.

The owner of Shing Fung Pawnshop told investigators that Nualan had pawned a necklace and a pendant on Apr 8 last year for $500, but neither the brand nor the serial number was found in the company's records.

Police also went to Cheuk Fung Pawnshop and discovered that Nualan had pawned one 18-karat gold necklace, a pair of earrings and a diamond pendant for $1,000 on Jan 31 this year. But no records of the brand and serial numbers and no photographs of the items were taken.

As the pawn tickets had expired, the police were not able to recover them.

The bracelet was pawned on May 29 but Nualan said she had lost the pawn ticket.

The defense lawyer said his client admitted she had pawned the missing items for a total of $4,000 and sent $2,000 to her mother in the Philippines who had a heart ailment.

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Carrie Lam delivers policy address by video amid heckling in Legco

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Stern-faced Chief Executive Carrie Lam pauses as opponents in Legco heckle her.

By The SUN

Embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam abandoned her speech in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Oct 16, and resorted to delivery by video after opponents in legislature heckled her.

Lam’s 51-minute policy address was the first time in Hong Kong’s history that a leader used video to address the Legco because of unruly members.

She admitted she faced unprecedented challenges, but said she hoped the policy address would set Hong Kong back on track and help end the violent protests.

Fighting off tears at some points, Lam said Hong Kong was on the brink after four months of violent anti-government protests and urged various sectors including community leaders, experts and academics, to push 200 initiatives to help end the turmoil.

But none of Lam’s measures addressed protesters’ demands for universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police's alleged abuse of power.

While Lam vowed to safeguard human rights, she said pushing for Hong Kong independence could not be tolerated and the city would adhere to its governing system of “one country, two systems”.

Among the initiatives were boosting land supply by invoking the Lands Resumption Ordinance more proactively, enabling the forceful resumption of 700 hectares of private land for public purposes, such as providing housing for 10,000 families.

Lam said land seizure will involve three types of land. These include 450 hectares of brownfield land near new towns or main roads, such as in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun; land marked for public housing in existing zoning plans; and the three urban squatter villages in Ngau Chi Wan, Cha Kwo Ling and Chuk Yuen United.

Security officers hem in Carrie Lam as she arrives at the Legco on Wednesday morning.

The land resumption legislation envisions that “every Hong Kong citizen and his family will no longer have to be troubled by or preoccupied with the housing problem as they will be able to have their own home in the city”.

“What we can rely on now is the spirit of the rule of law, the freedom of expression and the unique advantage brought by the one country, two systems,” she said.

Hong Kong’s economy faces unprecedented challenges in the face of the US-China trade war and “violent acts in recent months” that had left the economy slipping into a technical recession since the third quarter as GDP shrank 0.5% quarter on quarter in the second quarter, according to Lam.

Citing the progressive rise in unemployment in the most affected retail, accommodation and catering services, Lam said her government will seek policy support from Beijing on tax perks and simplified procedures for firms seeking China expansion to create opportunities.

Lam said the government would offer a “one-off living subsidy” for low-income families who are not living in public rental flats or receiving welfare, such as the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, or CSSA. These include those on the queue for public housing.

Under the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme launched this year, subsidy for a commuter’s monthly public transport expenses that exceed $400 will rise to about 33% from 25%.

Lam suggested waiving tolls for tunnels, including the upcoming Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link Subsea Tunnel, the Lantau Link, the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel that will open in 2021 and the existing Tseung Kwan O Tunnel.

The measures Lam announced to boost the city’s supply of land and affordable housing targeted at least 10 sites that had already been identified and would be resumed at cheaper rates if developers did not formulate development plans by June next year.

The Chief Executive called on people across the political spectrum to put aside their differences and stop attacking each other, saying Hong Kong would soon be able to “emerge from the storm and embrace the rainbow”.
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Elderly Pinay charged with laundering $700k

Posted on 16 October 2019 No comments

The Eastern Court was told Qazi was arrested when Ruttonjee staff alerted police

An elderly Filipina is facing a charge of money laundering in Eastern Court following the transfer of more than $700,000 into her Hang Seng Bank account from a Singapore woman’s bank account allegedly through an online scam.

The defendant, Shirina Amistad Qazi, was charged today, Oct 16, before Magistrate Bina Chainrai with dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence, a euphemism for money laundering.

The prosecution said Qazi, 61, was arrested on Saturday when staff at Ruttonjee Hospital in Wanchai who attended to her found out she was on the watch list and alerted police.

According to the particulars of the offense, between Sept 8 and Sept 15, 2015, cash totaling $731,731 moved in and out of the defendant’s Hang Seng Bank account.

The huge amount triggered an alert at the bank, which informed the authorities. Investigators traced the fund source as a Credit Suisse account owned by a Singapore woman named Miss Teh.

The prosecution said the account owner was a victim of a scam in which an email purportedly coming from her instructed Credit Suisse to transfer money into Qazi’s Hang Seng account. Several withdrawals were made from Qazi’s account after the transfer.

While the case was under investigation, Qazi disappeared on Jul 15 and put on the watch list on Aug 11. Her visit to Ruttonjee Hospital’s ER department for medical treatment on Oct 12 gave her away.

At the request of the defense counsel, Chainrai ordered the police to allow Qazi access to her mobile phone so she could call her family.

The magistrate adjourned the case until Nov 27 for legal advice and further investigation.

But Chainrai rejected Qazi’s bail application due to opposition from the prosecution, who said she had no travel document, had a previous conviction in 2011 and was a flight risk.

The defendant was remanded into custody.

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UPDATE: Long-term Filipino prisoner is back home after 26 years

Posted on 15 October 2019 No comments

Mario delos Reyes, who was freed after 26 years behind bars in Stanley Prison, was seen off at Hong Kong International Airport on Oct. 22 by Consul Paul Saret, who also checked him in for his flight and and handed over some farewell gifts from friends. Mario was met in Manila by his wife, Gigi, and two of their three children. Mario now spends his time in the family home in Nueva Ecija receiving family and friends, writing, and catching up with modern technology.

A week before his release, Delos Reyes was received by Consul General Raly Tejada in his office

Mario is set for releaseBy Vir B. Lumicao

Mario delos Reyes, released recently from Hong Kong’s maximum security Stanley Prison but detained again at the Castle Peak Immigration Centre in Tuen Mun, may be flying home soon.

An Immigration officer who escorted Delos Reyes, 62, to the Consulate on Tuesday, Oct 15, to secure his one-way travel document told Consulate officers he would confirm the schedule the next day and inform the PCG.

The officer was responding to Consul Paulo Saret's query on when he could hand Delos Reyes the presents from well-wishers, including The SUN, at the airport.

Delos Reyes went to the Consulate around 2pm, which will allow him to return to his country after spending 26 years in Stanley following his conviction in 1994 on a charge of conspiracy to murder.

Saret, head of the assistance to national section, signed the travel document right beside Delos Reyes, who was having a late lunch of KFC friend chicken at ATN. He was accompanied by two Filipina detainees at CIC and three Immigration escorts.

Consul Paulo Saret says PCG took only minutes to issue the travel document

It took ATN only a few minutes to issue Delos Reyes the travel document, said Saret.

After his lunch, he was invited to the office of Consul General Raly Tejada, who wished him well for his release from prison.

The visit to the Consulate was Delos Reyes’ first travel outside CIC since his transfer there upon his release from Stanley on Oct 5, he said. He was visibly cheerful to be with Consulate staff and other Filipinos who were wishing him well.

But, asked how he felt after his release from Stanley, his answer was blunt: “Eto, galit, dahil hindi ako pinauwi agad nang lumabas ako.”

Delos Reyes with friends, DSWD attache Beth Dy and ATN's Saret and Arnel Deluna

He said his family prepared a welcome party for him at their home in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, but were disappointed when they learned that he would not be flying back to Manila immediately.

“Akala nila ay makakauwi na ako, kasi wala na lang akong deportation order,” he said.

He said aside from the travel document, he is awaiting his release papers from Immigration’s word regarding a minor error in the typing of his family name.

He said on his Hong Kong ID, “delos” was spelled as one word, but in his Immigration records it was “de los”. He put the blame on the Hong Kong government for the mistake.

Delos Reyes, a contributor to The SUN even while behind bars, said he was not sure when his flight would be.It still depends on the Immigration Department, which will provide his air ticket, a PCG officer said..

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