Two Filipina helpers on stealing spree in Causeway Bay mall plead guilty

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The 2 Pinay DHs took items from branded outlets in Sogo without paying

Two Filipina friends who went shopping without paying on Nov 7 in Sogo department store in Causeway Bay pleaded guilty today in Eastern Court to four counts of theft.

Domestic helpers K.C. Cagaanan, 31, and J. Cacacho, 39, who were on bail, admitted the offenses today, Nov 24, before Magistrate Bina Chainrai.

The magistrate convicted them and scheduled their sentencing for Dec 8 pending a background report. She ordered them remanded into custody until that date.

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The duty lawyer assigned to the two pleaded for leniency, saying both defendants had pleaded guilty, were remorseful and had clear records.

The lawyer said Cagaanan, who came to Hong Kong in 2017 to work for a family in Chong Yip Centre, Sai Wan, was fired by her employers after the incident.

Cacacho, who was accompanied to the court by her female employer from Metro City in Tseung Kwan O, had a letter from the employer stating she was reliable, honest and had  never stolen money from the family, the lawyer said.

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When the lawyer said the six items they stole were just a few pieces of garments, Chainrai rebuked him, saying the value of the stolen goods was more than $5,000 and that the offenses were a joint enterprise and premeditated.

The prosecution said that at 5:40pm on Nov 7, a male plainclothes guard of Sogo saw Cagaanan and Cacacho enter the Calvin Klein Jeans shop on the third floor of the mall.

The guard allegedly saw Cagaanan take a black backpack from the shelf and the two left the shop without paying for the item. The guard followed them and saw Cagaanan put the stolen item in a pink bag and gave it to Cacacho, who tore off its price tag.

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Cagaanan then went to a Fila shop on the fourth floor and bought a pair of sport shoes. She then took a blue long-sleeved T-shirt and left without paying. The guard allegedly saw her put the shirt in a paper bag containing the shoes and handed it to her friend.

The pair then went to the third floor. Caganaan went to a Tommy Jeans shop where she allegedly took a gray sweater, one blue and one black long-sleeved T-shirts, then left without paying. She put the shirts in a white shopping bag which she gave to Cacacho.

From there they entered another Calvin Klein Jeans shop where Cacacho allegedly took a black T-shirt before they left. She then put the shirt in the white bag.

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The guard intercepted the two as they left at 6:18pm. He checked their bags and found all the six unpaid items. He called the police and the two were arrested.

At the police station, they admitted the offenses around 8:30pm, the prosecutor said, adding the total value of the stolen goods was $5,830. They were charged with theft.

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POEA tells Phl recruiters, you cannot make OFWs pay for training

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Olalia's letter to Palmiery says it is illegal for agencies to force OFWs to undergo training

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has categorically told recruitment agencies that they cannot compel overseas Filipino workers to pay for training prior to their deployment.

The statement is contained in a letter sent by POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia to agency representative Alfred Palmiery dated June 19 this year, which surfaced only now amid a dispute on what agencies are legally entitled to charge as fees to OFWs.

Palmiery had sought clarification after Labor Attache Melchor Dizon reportedly said in a zoom meeting earlier in the year that OFWs bound for Hong Kong must not be required to undergo training unless they fail in the Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) assessment.

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Palmiery, who heads Sharp (Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines), also took issue when The SUN reported on Nov 12 a remark made by Dizon during a Filipino community meeting that recruiters should not charge fees from OFWs they deploy abroad.

In a letter complaint he sent to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Palmiery raised the issue again, saying that if Dizon’s pronouncements were correctly reported, they could create confusion because they were “incomplete and partially inaccurate.”

In his letter responding to Palmiery’s request for clarification, Olalia cited certain provisions in the 2016 POEA Rules that expressly prohibit licensed recruitment agencies from requiring OFWs to undergo training, seminars or the like, unless the principal (or the employer) shoulder the cost of such training.

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“As can be interpreted from the above provisions of the POEA Rules, the employer (principal) or the licensed recruitment agency can validly require applicant OFWs to undergo training in a specially select training center or facility provided that it (principal or agency) pays for the cost of the training,” said Olalia.

He said OFWs shall pay the cost of training only if they chose the training center themselves.

Olalia went on to say that OFWs need not even undergo a formal training in a training center or facility because “competence in domestic work, which does not require specialized skills, may also be acquired through adequate experience.”

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While the workers may themselves choose to go to a training center to ensure they get the NCII,  “it remains a fact that formal training in a training centre is not a condition for HSWs to take and pass a Tesda skills assessment,” said Olalia.

The POEA head also reminded agencies that they cannot insist on training an OFW who is in possession of a valid NCII (National Certificate for Household Service Workers) issued by Tesda.

The NCII is valid for five years, said Olalia, and within this period, the employer or the agency cannot require the OFW to undergo another training unless the workers is willing, and the employer or agency shoulders the cost of the training.

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Olalia’s letter said that the act of compelling a worker to undergo training is one of those enumerated under Rule X, Section 76 of the POEA Rules as constituting illegal recruitment.

Palmiery (with mic) heads one of the biggest recruitment agency groups in the Philippines

In his most recent letter to Secretary Bello, Palmiery argued Dizon was wrong in saying that agencies in the Philippines could not charge any fees from the OFWs they deploy to Hong Kong.

He cited a list of fees and costs enumerated in the POEA Guidelines that are said to be chargeable to an OFW; however, the only relevant ones to FDWs bound for Hong Kong are the medical examination and the NCII certificate from Tesda.

In addition, the POEA Rules do not specifically state that the OFW should pay such fees to the agency, because in fact, they pay directly to the medical clinic where they were examined, and to Tesda.

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It is unclear if Bello has responded to Palmiery’s letter-complaint.

In the meantime, Palmiery appears to have asked Hong Kong agencies accredited with Polo to rally to his cause. He set up an online meeting with them tonight, on the eve of a separate talk that the HK agencies are scheduled to have with Labatt Dizon.

Thomas Chan, president of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, who joined the online meeting, had nothing to say last night about what was discussed.

He, however, confirmed receiving a copy of Administrator Olalia’s reply to Palmiery’s request for clarification.

Chan said the Hong Kong agency owners were to continue their meeting with Palmiery later tonight after dinner.

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Training fee issue revives tales of OFWs driven by agencies to debt

By Vir B. Lumicao  

HK-bound workers doing hands-on training in an elderly home in Manila

The oft-repeated story about overseas Filipino workers being neck-deep in debt even before they came to Hong Kong due to exorbitant employment agency fees has been resurrected.

This has re-emerged as domestic workers who were charged by agencies or their partner training centers huge sums are speaking out following Labor Attaché Melchor Dizon’s recent statement that they shouldn’t have been required to train in the first place.

On Sunday, an initial group of about 30 workers went to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office to claim back money they said were charged them by their recruitment agencies in the Philippines. 

 

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One worker, Judy (not her real name), who arrived in June this year for her first job in Hong Kong, said she had to take out a Php99,000 loan from a lending company in Manila at an interest rate of 4%, money that was all paid to the agency before she could fly out.   

She said she had to pay Php16,500, or $2,500 per month for a total of six months, to her recruiter in Manila via online payment application, Alipay. She finished her payment this month.

“Wala, for six months ko tiniis…Php99,000 hindi ko man lang natikman,” Judy said regretfully. She said her proofs are receipts of her monthly remittances to the lending company.

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On top of this, Judy said that a day before the flight, she and her batchmates were made to pay $10,000 each by her agency, for which no receipt was given. They were made to write a statement that they did not pay the agency a single peso.

“We couldn’t get evidence kasi bawal magdala ng phone sa office,” the worker said, who said she hoped the agency and its staff will reap karma for ripping off workers.

A receipt for the money Judy paid a lending company in the Phl, which all went to her recruiter

Another helper, Lai Siarot, who came to Hong Kong on Nov 28 last year, said she paid her agency Php60,000 that she borrowed partly from other people. She said filled the shortfall with her own money and also spent a lot for her food and traveling expenses.

“Hindi ako umutang sa lending, sa tao po ako umutang (I didn’t borrow from a lending company, I borrowed from people),” said the worker from Pangasinan.

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Siarot said she had worked in Hong Kong previously but went home and stayed five years there before applying for another job here.

She said she paid up her debt in 2019. Asked whether she would file for a refund, she was pessimistic: “Baka po masayang lang and pagod at wala din maibalik, (The effort might go to waste and there might be no refund)” she said.

Bernadette (not her real name said the first time she left Manila, she spent more than Php80,000. Then on her second departure, she was required to train again at a cost of Php20,000 even if she had NCII, or the required certificate of competency, issued by Tesda.

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She said her recruitment agency told her she had to go to training again even if she had a valid NCII and was a returnee from Hong Kong.

“Sabi ng agency, ‘training uli ha, di ka makakaalis kung di ka mag-training uli,” she said, notwithstanding your being an NCII holder and a former Hong Kong worker.

Another FDW who commented in a Facebook post of The SUN’s article on Labatt Dizon’s remarks claimed she paid $70,000 – Php30,000 for training and Php40,000 for processing, aside from the Php3,500 medical.

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Even the four helpers who were treated in hospitals here after testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival from Manila and sent home afterwards by the Immigration Department, paid around Php30,000 in training fee in addition to other charges.

Ermalyn Deno, the first to be sent back home after treatment, says she paid Php31,000 to her agency for her training back in the Philippines. But this was jacked up by Php7,750 because she was made to undergo a medical examination three times for unclear reasons.

As she was from Palawan, she also had to incur a lot of expenses for board and lodging as she was made to go to Manila for the training that it turns out now, was not even necessary.

C.A., the third would-be helper to be removed from Hong Kong after her hospital treatment, said she had spent Php100,000 in borrowed money to come here.

The 35-year-old mother of four said Php45,000 of what she borrowed went to pay fees charged by her agency in Manila, Placewell International Services, including Php5,980 for the nucleic acid test, or swab test, at the Lung Center in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, at least two FDHs asked if they could still claim a refund of the more than Php100,000 they paid their recruitment agencies several years back. One said she came here in 2011, and the other, in 2012.

Rochelle echoed the question, saying she borrowed part of the huge placement and training fees she paid her agency back in 2012. Unlike the others, she said she got the loan from a relative at 10% interest, which took her several months to repay. But like most of them, she was not issued any receipt for any of her payments.

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HK records 73 new Covid cases, mostly from dance cluster

 By The SUN 

Hsin Kuang Banquet Hall is among 7 new dance venues linked to the new cluster of infections

Health officials have reported 73 new coronavirus cases today, Nov 23, the highest number of infections in three months. More than 70 other people have tested preliminary positive for the disease.

Fifty of the new confirmed cases are linked to the outbreak in dance clubs, which now has a total of 132 infections, the largest cluster ever recorded in Hong Kong.

According to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection, it is difficult to predict to what extent the cluster will grow.

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As it is, some of the cases are already third-generation infections, meaning those acquired from close contacts of the people who had visited the tainted venues.

“It depends on the behavior of the general public and the cases…whether they will adopt social distancing measures, whether they will stop going out for a while to stop transmission,” she said.

“It needs the cooperation of people of Hong Kong because we don’t know who has already been infected.”

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Chuang also said the number of dance clubs where infections have occurred has risen, from 14 to 21. She said compulsory testing will also be required for those who visited the seven newly identified dance clubs from the start of the month.

“For the seven venues, another notice will have to be issued and the deadline should be at a later date that that for the existing venues because we have to allow members of the public to go and have the test,” said Chuang.

The newly added dance venues include Kwan Ho Seafood Restaurant in Mei Foo, Hsin Kuang Banquet Hall in Shatin, Victor Yan Studio in Cheung Sha Wan, The World Dancer Performing Arts Federation in Tsim Sha Tsui, Starway Music Studio, also in TST, Double Happiness Restaurant in Kowloon Bay, and an entertainment production company in Aberdeen.

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Today’s other cases included 13 other locally acquired infections, including eight whose sources are unknown.

The remaining 10 are all imported cases, including two new arrivals from Indonesia, one a returning resident, and the other, a domestic worker. There was also one crew member from Russia, two students from the UK, and returnees from the UK, UAE and India.

Chuang and Yu at today's news briefing

According to Chuang, the new cases linked to the dance club cluster include two staff members and a part-time dance instructor at the True Light Middle School, whose students will now have to be tested for Covid-9.

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 Another female linked to the clubs works at the Union Hospital, and one of her colleagues has also tested positive for the virus. Chuang said officials are investigating whether the cases indicate a transmission has occurred within the hospital.

All these suggest, says Chuang, that people should stop gathering, not just for dancing. She reiterated an appeal for those who experience symptoms to seek medical help immediately.

“Please, if you feel unwell, please take a test immediately, or see a doctor,” she said.

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As in the past few days, the untraceable cases involved people from all walks of life, from across Hong Kong. They included an unemployed man who lives in Mong Kok, and four housewives who live in Wong Tai Sin, Tsuen Wan, Ho Man Tin and North Point.

Another patient who works in Mong Kok has a close contact who tested preliminary positive, and studies at Good Hope School. The school has been asked to close for up to two days for disinfection.

According to Dr Linda Yu, chief manager of the Hospital Authority, the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo will start taking in patients starting this Wednesday to release the pressure on public hospitals, in anticipation of a further surge in cases.

The AWE facility has 1,900 beds, and was designed to accept patients who are in stable condition, asymptomatic, or are younger and healthier. Dr Yu said those who are preliminary positive for the virus could also be accommodated.

As of 9am today, a total of 224 confirmed patients are being treated in 19 public hospitals. Among them, eight are in critical condition, two are stable, and the remaining 214 are in stable condition.

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Go for test if you have symptoms, public urged, as 68 new Covid-19 cases reported

 

Palladium Dance Club in TST is among the 14 venues linked to the new cluster (RTHK photo)

By Vir B. Lumicao

Health officials confirmed 68 coronavirus infections in Hong Kong today, Nov 22, 46 of them related to the dance hall outbreak last week. The new cases brought Hong Kong’s overall tally to 5,629.

Health officials expressed concern about the silent transmission in the community, especially in the dance cluster, where 80 infections have so far been detected.

They urged the public to go for testing if they have symptoms or feel unwell.

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Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said the newly confirmed patients were 31 males and 37 females with ages ranging from 17 to 81. She said 34 of the cases were identified by the testing centers.

Only seven of the new cases were imported. They included two men from India and Mexico, a female cabin crew from Turkey, and two Russian male pilots who arrived in Hong Kong on Nov 20; and a Russian female crew who arrived one day later.

The seventh was a man from Pakistan who arrived on Nov 18 and tested positive while in quarantine.

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From the dance cluster, there were two cleaners from two separate dancing clubs, which show possible environmental contamination of the two premises, Chuang said.

Another was a female teacher who was related to a patient from the dance cluster. The teacher has 20 students whom she taught face to face, so the students were all sent to a testing center, Chuang said. 

She said that some of the cases linked to the dance clubs are family members or friends, or people who lived or worked near them.

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Starting today, she said there would be no more dancing in dance floors and restaurants.

The day's tally included 16 other local cases, four of which were linked to previous infections, and 12 whose sources were unknown.

One was a 70-year-old woman from Wah Chuen in Kwai Chung who felt unwell on Nov 19 after performing in a Cantonese opera with another singer at Leighton Hill Community Centre.

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Chuang said they did not wear masks but there was a distance between them. There were about 20 persons in the audience but all wore masks and were seated at a distance.

Another female patient who lives in Kwun Tong with family members felt unwell on Nov 20 and went to a hospital where she tested positive yesterday.

Chuang said the woman went to Guan Ho Chinese restaurant in Mei Foo on Nov 16 with friends to eat and dance. She said there were several tables and a large number of people, making the place high risk. CHP is now trying to trace the people who were there.

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“So far we have not identified who had attended these events or been to those places. We’ll keep it under observation. If there are people who have been to these events, please go to get tested,” Chuang said.

Another patient was a primary school student in Tai Po who felt unwell and went to a hospital for a checkup.

Chuang said sample bottles had been distributed to students of the school and classes had been suspended while results were awaited and disinfection and cleaning operations were carried out.

Health officials say the spread of the virus in the dance clubs is worrying

Meanwhile, Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority, said that 11 patients had recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 5,259.

As of 9am, there were 164 confirmed patients still in 19 public hospitals, with 8 in a critical condition, 2 in a serious condition and 152 in a stable condition.

Chuang urged the public, especially those in the dance cluster, to go see a doctor immediately if they experience mild symptoms.

Everyone who had been to 14 dance clubs identified by the government since the start of the month have until Tuesday to get themselves tested or face sanctions, under new regulations allowing the government to compel testing for those in certain high-risk groups.

The clubs have been identified as: Chasse, at W Square and Dance Concept of Great Smart Tower, both in Wan Chai; Dance Culture and Dance Star Academy, both in Richmond Plaza, Causeway Bay; DanzStage Dance Studio of 148 Electric Road, Causeway Bay; Green Apple International Dance School of Alto Residences in Tseung Kwan O; Heavenly Dance of 9 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan; Hsin Kuang Banquet Hall of Yue Xiu Plaza in San Po Kong; a studio on the third floor of Golden Era Plaza in Mong Kok; Matex Club of Park Fook Industrial Building in Sham Shui Po; More Dance Fame of Chinaweal Centre in Wan Chai; Palladium International Dance Club of the BCC Building in Tsim Sha Tsui; Shining Star Dance Studio of SUP Tower in North Point and the Starlight Dance Club of Sunshine Plaza in Wan Chai.

Chuang said those who should get tested can go to outpatient clinics to get specimen bottles or to private clinics.

She said the government has enough testing facilities. “Together with the private clinics, we can handle 10,000 tests a day, she said.

Lau echoed the appeal, taking note of the high number of untraceable cases. He said those who are in the high-risk groups or in the target groups should go for testing.

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HK to give $5k to people who test positive for Covid-19

By The SUN

Dr Chan says no means test will be used in giving the $5k to infected people (RTHK photo)

Hong Kong Health Secretary Sophia Chan said today, Nov 22, that the government will begin giving a one-off $5,000 handout to anyone in the city who tests positive for Covid-19, in a bid to allay concerns of people who avoid getting tested because of fear of being forced off work.

“We hope this subsidy can encourage low-income residents who may be worried about losing their salaries if they have to be quarantined because they are infected to come forward and get tested,” said Dr Chan in a press briefing.

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She added the main recipients will be people who test positive and have a need for the subsidy. However, she said applicants would not be means-tested.

It was not immediately clear if the handout would also be given to newly arrived migrant workers, who account for a big number of the imported cases reported in the city on an almost daily basis.

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Migrant workers who get infected in their employers’ homes would, however, most likely qualify. As it is, the helpers could already claim employee compensation under Hong Kong’s labour laws as the illness in these cases is clearly work-related, but the Consulate does not have any record of anyone who had taken up this option.

The health chief said the exact details of the scheme would be announced at a later date by the Labour and Welfare Department.

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She made the announcement as mandatory Covid-19 testing got underway today for people who visited 14 dance clubs across Hong Kong linked to a massive outbreak that was first detected on Friday.

In just three days, the number of infections in the cluster that started with Starlight Dance Club in Wanchai had grown to 80, including 46 of the 68 new cases that were recorded today.

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Everyone who visited any of the clubs starting on Nov 1 are compelled to submit themselves to test until Nov 24, or face a $2,000 fixed penalty.

The government says it will announce shortly a list of high-risk groups that will be included in the compulsory testing, including taxi drivers and care home workers, as well as people with symptoms.

5 more community testing centres will be set up by the government 

In todays’ interview, Chan said the government would set up five more community testing centers on top of the four that were already operating.

"We will be increasing the number of testing centres in the coming week. Obviously it will be in different districts in Hong Kong," Chan said.

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In addition, a mobile swabbing station or a van that distributes specimen bottles would be deployed in a particular district, if a surge in cases is detected in the area, as what happened in Tai Po recently.

Chan said the additional testing centres would make it easier for people compelled to take the test, to comply with the order.

Meanwhile, the free testing offered to all foreign domestic workers through specimen collection on the bridge leading to Immigration Tower in Wanchai, ended Saturday. There has been no word on whether the service will be extended, given the new surge in infections.

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