Another Filipina kills self by hanging

By The SUN

Filipinas facing depression are urged to seek help immediately

A Filipina helper reportedly stressed by family problems has hanged herself in her employer’s house in Kowloon City, the second overseas Filipina worker in Hong Kong to do so in November.

Police said the helper, a 45-year-old woman surnamed Jamer, was found by the 23-year-old daughter of her  employer surnamed Chek.

She was hanging by her neck with an electrical cable at around 8:15 pm on Saturday, Nov 30.

The employer's daughter reportedly brought the Filipina down and reported the incident to the police.

Jamer was then taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she was certified dead on arrival.

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A police spokeswoman said the case was classified as death by hanging.

She said no suicide note was found and there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Jamer’s death. But a postmortem will be performed on the body.

The spokeswoman said investigators had gathered that the helper had family problems.

Welfare Officer Marivic Clarin confirmed that family problems appeared to have driven the worker to suicide.

Clarin said she learned from the victim's sister that the two of them spent the whole day together to talk about the problem but parted without incident.

On arriving home, the victim even had a video call with her sister and her daughter who is in the Philippines, but gave no indication that she was about to take her life.

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Jamer was the second Filipina worker to hang herself last month.

On Nov 2, a 37-year-old Filipina domestic worker hanged herself with a thin blanket inside her bedroom in her employer’s flat in Mong Kok. Her employer told Consulate officers the helper had debt problems.

Two other suicides of Filipina migrant workers also happened just a week apart in July this year, and in neighboring districts.

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In the first case, the worker who reportedly had relationship problems jumped from her employer’s flat in Cheung Sha Wan on Jul 15 after waving goodbye to her aunt who works in the same household.

In the second case which happened on Jul 22, a worker from Quezon who was saddled with debt problems plunged to her death from her employer’s flat in Lai Chi Kok.

The Consulate is advising OFWs who are distressed to talk to relatives and friends about their problems to get these off their chests.

They could also call The Samaritans, which runs a 24-hour multilingual suicide prevention hotline at 2896 0000. Emails can also be sent to jo@samaritans.org.hk.

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Protest-related violence halts ‘Concert in the Park’

By Vir B. Lumicao

The sixth of 7 bands slated  to perform managed to keep the crowd glued to their seats before concert was halted

An outbreak of violence at a protest march in Tsim Sha Tsui cut short the annual “Concert in the Park” on Sunday, Dec 1, at the Cultural Centre Piazza, by Hong Kong-based  bands.

The party mood at the pre-Christmas treat by the Hong Kong Musicians Union and the Philippine Consulate General slated to end at 7pm ended just before 4:30pm at the advice of the authorities.

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But Consul General Raly Tejada said the event still turned out well. “In fact people enjoyed so much and didn’t even realize it was cut short since only the last band (7^th in line) wasn’t able to play,” he said.

But, he added, “Safety first always. Lahat naman nakauwi ng maayos.”

CG Tejada (right) with Consul Quintin and HKMU chair Ela Lo

Earlier, at about 3:45pm, staff from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department which co-organized the event, approached ConGen Tejada and Consul Bob Quintin and told them the show should be stopped immediately.

But it took another 45 minutes before emcee Jun Paragas announced on stage that the show was being cut short, with one band still waiting to perform. That was after steps were taken to quietly advise those watching the show to leave calmly and proceed to the nearby Star Ferry.

By then, tear gas had already been deployed down Salisbury Road not far from the venue. Police had advised organizers to tell the estimated 500 spectators to leave the area via the Star Ferry to avoid the confrontation.

Thousands gathered at the Clock Tower ,about 100 meters  from the concert venue before the protest march

Just before this, guest Bheng Woolf of AFreight decided to leave the concert on hearing about the protest, and said the Star Ferry pier was already packed with people trying to leave the area.

Paragas was about to go onstage to advise people to leave when the officers stopped him, saying this could cause the crowd to panic.

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Instead, co-emcee Michael Vincent and some Consulate staff went to the piazza steps where the spectators were swaying and waving with the music and asked everyone to leave calmly.

For awhile their efforts emptied half of the venue, but when “Sound Bytes,” the event’s main attraction with their colorful costumes took over the stage, the crowd came back with LED wands in their hands.

Of the seven bands that were slated to perform in Sunday’s event, only “The Hiking Boys” failed  to go onstage and regale the crowd that included locals and westerners.

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But to show appreciation for their presence, Congen Tejada went up the gallery where the 10-man band had sat among the crowd and shook the hand of each member.

The bands performed in addition to Sound Bytes were Hard Luck Kings, Lagablab, Rockin’ Chicken, HKMU Assembly Band and Bluesy Cats.

HKMU chairwoman Manuela Lo was not amused at the turn of events.

“Ang hirap pa namang kumuha ng mga tao ngayon pagkatapos ay mapuputol lang ang concert dahil may rally,” Lo said as she moved around coordinating the show.

But she said later that “Overall, it was a success, bitin nga lang.”

It was the first time that the annual entertainment provided by mostly Filipino musicians was cut short in the more than 20 years that it has been staged in Hong Kong.

With Congen Tejada at the show were Deputy Consul General Germie Usudan, Consul Leo Tito Ausan, Consul Bob Quintin, Acting Labor Attache OIC Tony Villafuerte, Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga and Welfare Officer Marivic Castro Clarin.

Tens of thousands of people joined the TST protest, which began with a mass assembly at the Clock Tower, just a few steps from the Piazza. Tensions flared when protesters deviated from the approved route at about 4pm and spilled onto the streets.

After raising the blue flag warning, police fired tear gas and other projectiles onto the crowd, which included children and elderly people.

Officers said they used minimum force to stop radical protesters who had thrown smoke bombs at them.

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Filipina denies stealing $1k from barrister-employer

By Vir B. Lumicao

The magistrate has reserved her judgment to Dec 12

A Filipina domestic worker has said she will not risk losing her job for just $1,000.

Lady Lynne Robinion said this when she testified in her defense on the third and last day of her trial at Eastern Court on Nov. 29.

Magistrate Vivian Wong adjourned the case for sentencing on Dec 12.

Robinion is accused of stealing the $1,000 she used to top up her Alipay account on the day the same amount went missing from a locked money box in the room she shared with fellow helper Rose Suarez.

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The money in the box was reportedly given to Suarez for safekeeping by their female employer, barrister Joey Yung.

Robinion claimed she borrowed the $1,000 from Suarez, but the other maid denied this.

The defendant’s lawyer said the case was a frame-up but the prosecution countered there was no reason why Suarez would do this.

At one point during her testimony, Robinion defiantly told the prosecutor he was trying to confuse her when he kept asking whether she knew why the police arrived in the house on the evening of Jul 30 this year.

When the lawyer asked her if she was nervous when she saw the police, she said she wasn’t because she knew she did not do anything wrong.

“No, I wasn’t nervous,” she replied. “When the police arrived I didn’t think of anything because I knew my employers were a lawyer and a judge and knew what they’re doing.”  

The prosecutor insisted she knew money was missing from the house and that the $1,000 top-up she made in her Alipay account earlier that day could be the stolen money.

When the lawyer asked if she was scared when the police arrested her, she said she was naturally afraid because she might lose her job and she had children to support.

“For just $1,000 I would not sacrifice my job, not even for $1 million,” she said.

Then she burst into tears, saying she was doing everything to try to fend for her children and that so many had been going through her mind since this case began.

Magistrate Wong called for a 10-minute recess to give her time calm down.

In summing up the case, the prosecutor challenged Robinion’s claim that his relationship with his employers was good because, if so, she would have just borrowed money from them instead of from Suarez.

He also said she had no reason to borrow money from Suarez at the time, and Suarez had no reason to lend her money because Robinion herself said their relationship was bad.

For her part, the defense counsel said Robinion was not aware of the alleged theft until she was arrested. She said the theft charge was an offshoot of differences between the two helpers.

She also disputed Suarez’s claim that she had not lent the defendant any money, saying  Robinion borrowed $1,200 from her once, and on another occasion, $100.

Robinion was hired in March 2018 to cook, clean the house and look after Yuen’s young daughter while Suarez focused on the employer’s 6-year-old boy ward. 

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Pinay who stole $1m worth of jewelry from employer could face more charges

By Vir B. Lumicao

Nones was about to be sentenced when the court was told she could have stolen more 

A Filipino maid has admitted stealing various jewelry items worth $1.1 million from her employers, but her case is not yet over.

Carmelita Nones, 45, learned in Eastern Court on Friday, Nov. 29, that she could face more theft charges because additional pawnshop receipts were found among her belongings, indicating she had stolen more than what was already known.

Nones had just pleaded guilty to stealing assorted jewelry items, including two Piaget watches worth $200,000 from her employers in Deepwater Bay, when a private lawyer for her employers divulged the new information.

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The lawyer asked the court to delay the sentencing so Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan called for a break so the two sides could discuss how to proceed.

When the hearing resumed, the prosecution suggested that the magistrate set aside all the guilty pleas Nones had made in the morning and asked for no plea while waiting for further police investigation to be completed.

Lam said he would rather wait until the additional charges were ready.

He adjourned the case until Jan 24 next year and ordered Nones remanded in custody.

The Filipina was arrested on Sept 4 in the residence of her employer, businessman David Liang, at 70 Deepwater Bay Road, Deepwater Bay, Hong Kong Island South.

When she appeared in court two days later, she was initially charged with stealing the two luxury watches between Jul 27 and Aug 11 this year.

But investigators later found five more stolen jewelry pieces in the records of the pawnshop where Nones had pawned the watches. Four other stolen jewelry items were found in her handbag.

Nones has been held without bail since her arrest.

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Filipina DH admits taking out loan after being terminated

Semilla will be sentenced for fraud on Dec 12 at Eastern Court 

A terminated 40-year-old Filipina domestic worker who took out a $30,000 loan from a Hong Kong financing company more than two years ago has pleaded guilty in Eastern Court to one count of fraud.

Analee Semilla appeared before Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan today, Nov 28, and admitted the offence. 

But Lam adjourned her sentencing to Dec 12 after the defense counsel said he was still verifying partial payments Semilla had made to settle the loan before submitting his mitigation.

Court records show Semilla went to the office of Prime Credit Limited in Euro Trade Centre in Central on Jun 3, 2017, and applied for a $30,000 loan using her work contract as proof of income.

She did not tell the lending company that she had been fired and that it was her last working day.

She then paid only two installments totaling $5,140 before she became out of reach. The outstanding balance of $24,860 from the loan amount was neither recovered nor insured, the prosecution said.

Prime reported the case to the police after learning from the maid’s employer that her work contract had already been terminated when she applied for the loan.

Investigators subsequently found from Immigration Department that Semilla had been re-employed in Hong Kong. Police raided her new work address on Jan 4 this year and arrested her.

Semilla was charged with fraud on Sept 22, and she admitted the offense.

Her bail was extended until her next court appearance. – Vir B. Lumicao