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High Court rejects bail for Filipino in $2M ketamine trafficking case

Posted on 08 January 2020 No comments

The articles allegedly seized from the Filipino.

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipino resident of Hong Kong arrested at the Chek Lap Kok airport in January last year for allegedly bringing in 4.2 kilos of ketamine from abroad worth $2 million has been refused bail by the High Court.

Richard Marc A. Benoza, 28, who used to work as a bartender, asked Judge Poon Siu-tung of the Court of First Instance to be allowed to post bail so he could to return to his family and take care of his grandmother.

“My family needs me. I am the only grandson who takes care of my grandmother,” Benoza said as he wiped his tears. He is charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug.

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But the prosecutor objected to Benoza’s bail application, saying the amount of ketamine found in his luggage was huge. She said that amount of the illegal drug could attract over 20 years in jail.

Customs & Excise officers arrested Benoza upon arrival from Bangkok on Jan 24 last year after his luggage allegedly yielded 17 packets of ketamine stuffed into snack boxes.

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The prosecutor said her team received on Tuesday a DNA comparison report that showed nearly half of Benoza’s clothing in his luggage bore traces of the drug. This indicated he had knowledge of the drug in his suitcase, she said.

Ketamine is a popular party drug in Hong Kong.

Benoza is due to appear in court on Feb 3 where he is expected to be asked to enter his plea, the prosecutor said. There is a greater possibility he will abscond if granted bail, she said.

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The prosecutor cited two occasions in 2004 when the applicant was involved in two sex-related cases. He failed to report to police from Jun 18 to Jul 7, 2004 and again on Sept 2-15 that year, she said.

Benoza said he was young and jobless then and did not know much about what was against the law. “This time I am older. I’ll try to avoid putting myself in a similar situation,” he told the judge.

But Judge Poon said the charge Benoza is facing is a very serious one that carries a very long sentence. He also said evidence against the applicant is very strong and he has a record of non-compliance with bail conditions.

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Buhay ni Rizal sa Hong Kong, muling ginunita

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Isa sa hinimpilan ng grupo ay ang Chater Garden.

Ni Ellen Asis

Bilang paggunita sa ika 123 taon ng pagkamatay ni Dr. Jose Rizal ay nagsagawang muli ang grupong Lakbay Dangal ng pagbisita sa ilang lugar sa Hong Kong kung saan nanirahan at nagtrabaho ang pambansang bayani ng Pilipinas.

Ang tinawag nilang Rizal Day Historico-Cultural Trail ay kanilang isinagawa noong ika-29 ng Disyembre sa mga piling lugar sa Central na naging bahagi ng buhay ni Rizal.

Nagsimula ang pagbabalik-tanaw at aral ng grupo sa Chater Garden na siyang nagsilbing tagpuan na rin nila. Ayon sa grupo, ang Chater Garden na isang sikat na tagpuan at tambayan ng mga migranteng Pinoy ay dating Cricket Club noon.

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Ayon sa LD na pinamumunuan ni Cecile Eduarte, nagkaroon sila ng mataas na pagpapahalaga sa makasaysayang buhay ni Dr Rizal dahil sa kanilang ginaganap na paggunita sa kanya sa pamamagitan ng paglalakad.

Nagsilbing inspirasyon din daw sila ng mga estudyanteng dayuhan na isinama nila sa kanilang lakbay-aral dahil kahit wala sila sa sariling bayan ay naroon pa rin ang kanilang matinding mithiin na tumulong ipalaganap ang mahalagang parteng ito ng ating kasaysayan.

Sa pagkakataong ito ay binisita din nila ang iba pang makasaysayang lugar sa Hong Kong katulad ng Court of Final Appeal (na dating gusali ng Legislative Council), Statue Square, Hongkong Bank at The Ice House. Mula rito ay tumuloy sila sa Duddell Street kung saan nakatayo dati ang klinika ni Dr Rizal, at sa Rednaxela Terrace kung saan nanirahan ang kanyang pamilya.

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Kabilang sa mga sumama sa lakbay-aral si Lovelyn Orense na nagsabing marami siyang natutunan na gusto niyang ibahagi sa kanyang mga kaibigan. Hindi siya makapaniwala na ang mga lugar na dati niyang dinadaan-daanan ay makasaysayan pala.

Tuwang-tuwa din si Merly Nellas na napasama sa grupo sa unang pagkakataon. Marami daw siyang natutunan sa kasaysayan ng Hong Kong tulad na lamang kung saan nanggaling ang pangalan nito, na ang ibig sabihin sa wikang Ingales ay “fragrant harbour”. Taliwas daw ito sa dating hitsura ng Hong Kong na tuyot ang lupa pero dahil sa positibong pananaw ng mga dayuhang mananakop ay binigyan nila ito ng magandang pangalam.

Ang Lakbay Dangal Hongkong ay binubuo ng mga migranteng Pilipino na mahilig sa pag-aaral ng kasaysayan. Inilunsad ang grupo noong ika-14 ng Marso, 2010 sa pamumuno ni Sonia Zerrudo at tulong ni Fr. Robert Reyes.

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Layunin nila na patatagin ang makasaysayang ugnayan ng Hong Kong at Pilipinas, magsanay bilang tour guide, at itaas ang kalidad ng pag-iintindi sa kultura at kasaysayan ng bansang Pilipinas.

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3 Pinoys in shark fins smuggling case deny charges

Posted on 07 January 2020 No comments

Three Filipino tourists are set to deny a charge of violating Hong Kong’s law on the protection of endangered species by allegedly bringing in a huge amount of dried shark fins and seahorses last August.

The shark fins seized at HK airport . They're a popular delicacy among the Chinese

Jomar Goron, Aldrin Jay Lacuesta and Michael Roy Marcelino, aged between 21 and 36 years old, appeared before District Court Judge K. Kwok on Jan 7.

Their lawyer said the three would plead not guilty and proposed a four-day trial of the case starting Apr 20, which the court approved.

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The prosecution said it will present 10 witnesses including a civilian expert and the officers who arrested the three and investigated the case.

The three defendants applied for bail backed by surety from a local man and a Filipina resident.

Judge Kwok granted bail to the defendants and told them to return to the court for their trial.

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Goron, Lacuesta and Marcelino were arrested on arrival from Manila at Hong Kong International Airport on Aug 23 last year after Customs officers found 180 kilos of dried shark fins and 500 grams in their check-in baggage.

The Customs and Excise Department estimated the market value of the seized goods at about $50,000.

Sea horses are a popular item in Chinese traditional medicine

The three were charged in West Kowloon Court shortly after their arrests, but their case was moved to District Court on Dec 17.

Goron and Lacuesta were charged with “importing specimens of Appendix II species otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance”, referring to the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance.

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Marcelino was charged with “importing specimens of Appendix II species otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of section 11 of Cap.586”.

Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a license is liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.

The case is being prosecuted by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. – Vir B. Lumicao

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Sickly 68-yr-old Pinoy to be tried for US$100b fake check case

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By Vir B. Lumicao

Tiñana has pleaded not guilty to a a charge of passing off the fake check as genuine

A 68-year-old Filipino accused of trying to pass off as genuine a check for US$100 billion, has finally appeared in District Court on Jan. 7, after his ill health prevented him from attending several hearings of his case earlier.

Wheelchair-bound Celerino L. Tiñana, who looked pale and sickly, appeared before Judge K. Kwok accompanied by a female relative. He failed to show up in court several times in the past, stalling his trial on a charge of using a false instrument.

Judge Kwok reset the trial to May 11-15 and extended Tiñana’s bail.

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Prosecutor Kamlesh Sadhwani said he will call four or five witnesses, while defense lawyer Andrew Bullett said he will secure a medical report on his client that will hopefully be ready by May 11.

In a previous hearing, Bullett said that the defendant’s heart condition had prevented him from attending court at least five times.

Tiñana, who will be 69 next month, was arrested in November 2017 when he went to a branch of Bank of China in Kowloon and presented a fake check for US$100 billion for verification, according to the prosecution.

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Bank staff who found out that the check was bogus called police.

Tiñana, a native of Pagbilao, Quezon, is one of eight elderly Filipinos who were arrested in recent years for presenting false documents with incredibly huge amounts to Hong Kong banks.

Just last Dec 30, Brudencio Bolaños, 70, was convicted by District Judge Stanley Chan of using a false instrument for presenting a spurious US$943 billion bank deposit slip to staff at the HSBC headquarters in Central. He was sentenced to four years in jail after trial.

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Bolaños was the fourth Filipino tourist jailed for trying to scam Hong Kong banks using false instruments.

However, at least three other Filipinos arrested over a similar case were acquitted for insufficiency of evidence in 2018, while charges were dropped against an elderly woman in February last year because of her ill health.

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Pinay maid jailed 2 months for taking employers’ unused items

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By Vir B. Lumicao

The helper said she thought the items she took without permission were no longer used

A 43-year-old Filipina helper who had earlier terminated her work contract has been jailed two months by a Kwun Tong magistrate for taking several items she thought her employers in Lohas Park, Tseung Kwan O no longer used.

Rosemarie Villon was sentenced by Magistrate Ivy Chui on Tuesday, Jan 7, after she pleaded guilty to one count of theft.

The stolen properties worth more than $4,300 comprised of a waistbag, a gold tie clip, three USB flash drives, four T-shirts, a bottle opener, power bank and wristband, 15 pieces of hair accessories, a yellow cosmetic bag containing one liquid foundation, a box of pressed powder, two eyebrow pencils, one lip pencil and one necklace valued at $1,000.

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All items were recovered, except for four T-shirts and hair accessories.

Villon was arrested on Nov 30, the same day her employers in Le Prestige, Lohas Park, were looking for a missing black waistbag. They found the bag in her rucksack when they searched her bedroom with her consent.

They reported to the police, who searched the room and her belongings and found the other items, except for the tie clip and hair accessories.

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During investigation, she admitted under caution that she began taking the items on her second week with the family. She said she took other items in storage that she thought were no longer used and kept them in a drawer under her bed.

Her lawyer asked for leniency, saying the items were of low or no value, but Chui brushed this aside, saying Villon had breached her employer’s trust by taking them without permission.

The magistrate said that even if some belongings are no longer used, families store them for sentimental reasons.

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Villon was arrested just eight days before she was to leave for home after resigning from her job of less than four months. She began working for the family in August last year but on Nov 3, gave notice that she was resigning, saying she wanted to go home and take care of her four children.

She said she would leave on Nov 17 but her employers asked her to stay until Dec 7.