‘Ambush lockdown’ on in North Point housing block

By The SUN 

The surprise lockdown of Tung Fat housing block will last until 7am Friday (Standard photo)

Residents of four buildings in a housing block in North Point were locked down without warning starting at 7pm tonight, Jan 28, as part of the government’s anti-epidemic measures. The lockdown of blocks A, B, C and D of Tung Fat building on Kam Ping Street will last for 12 hours.

Under the order issued by the government under Cap 599J of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation, everyone within the restricted area is required to remain in their premises and undergo compulsory testing, until the test results “are mostly ascertained.”

Pindutin para sa detalye

 

The order was issued after eight confirmed cases and five preliminary cases of Covid-19 were found on Wednesday in block C of Tung Fat building, involving different units and floors.

A microbiology expert who inspected the premises said the virus was likely transmitted through the narrow and confined stairwell shared by residents of the block.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

All residents of units 6 and 7 of block numbering about 60, were evacuated and taken to a quarantine center.

Officials said they found it necessary to issue a compulsory testing order for all people in the restricted area “so as to break the transmission chain in the district and dispel the worries of residents in the district.”

CLICK FOR DETAILS

 

Temporary specimen collection stations were set up at the restricted area and required residents to undergo testing by 2am Friday. A door-to-door specimen collection for people with restricted mobility and the elderly was also arranged.

Chuang and Lau announce 39 new cases, a weekly low (RTHK photo)

The five preliminary cases from the housing block were among the 39 new Covid-19 cases reported today, which brought Hong Kong’s total tally to 10,322.

All but one of the cases were locally acquired, and 20 of these were of unknown sources.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

The sole imported case from South Korea was found to carry either the British or the South African variant of the coronavirus, said to be several times more infectious than the usual strain. 

Despite the marked decrease in the number of infections, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said it was too early to say that the cases have eased.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

 

Chuang noted that the new cases were spread out in various districts.

"I look at the unlinked cases and their addresses. The cases are spread throughout the territory... they live in Lok Fu, Tai Kok Tsui, Ngau Tau Kok, Yuen Long, Tai Po, North District, Taikoo Shing and Central. So I think the cases are widespread in the community," she said.

The infectious disease expert also said residents of block 7 of Laguna City in Kwun Tong will have to undergo compulsory testing after three infections were found in two units of the building.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

 

But 25 environmental samples taken from block 5 of the same residential estate where 12 infections were previously recorded, all tested negative.

Two more deaths were reported, raising the city’s total death toll to 176.

Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority said one of the fatalities was a 47-year-old man who succumbed to the disease at 8:32am today at Kwong Wah Hospital.

Pindutin para sa detalye

The other patient was a 66-year-old man with chronic illness who died at United Christian Hospital at 12:16pm.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

CALL US NOW!

CALL US TO TRY!

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

 

 

 

 

Filipina helper acquitted of stealing ring from socialite employer

By Vir B. Lumicao

Chua Eh Fong gave police mere segments of a CCTV recording of the alleged theft

A Filipina helper was acquitted today, Jan 28, of a charge of stealing a tourmaline ring from her socialite employer who claimed it was worth $100,000. 

Liverty Narcelles, 35, wept openly and hugged her lawyer and former employer after Magistrate David Cheung gave his verdict. She had been held without bail since her arrest more than four months ago, and just two weeks after she started working for the employer.

Narcelles’ accuser, Chua Eh Fong (also known as Cai Yifeng) was not in court for the verdict. The employer is reported to be the wife of former ATV executive director Sheng Pinru.

Pindutin para sa detalye

 

The magistrate said the prosecution failed to establish that the defendant was guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Cheung questioned in particular why Chua took three days to provide police a CCTV footage of the search she made of the defendant’s luggage at noon Sept 9 last year.

He said when the employer eventually gave the footage, it was only a 10-minute-long segmented recordings of events in the dining area that morning, instead of the unedited video footage leading up to the finding of the ring police had requested.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Sources close to the case say the unedited video showed Chua watching Narcelles take out the contents of her suitcase for inspection, before suddenly bending down, then holding up the ring that was supposedly stolen.

A former helper at the employer’s sprawling townhouse at Regalia Bay in Stanley also said it would be next to impossible to steal anything there as there are CCTVs all over. Besides, she said Narcelles did not work long enough in the house to know where the employers’ valuables were kept.

After the hearing, Narcelles was led back by officers to the police holding area on the third floor of the courthouse. Reporters and her former employer who testified for her during the trial waited in vain for nearly an hour to talk to her.

CLICK FOR DETAILS

 

Officers in the holding area later said she had gone to the Immigration Department offices in Wanchai because her visa had run out. At about 6pm, Narcelles texted a friend to say she was still in Immigration but did not know what the officers were planning to do with her.

Tellez wants Narcelles to stay and press labour claims against her employer

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers which had been advising Narcelles, rushed to court, and then to Immigration, after hearing of the verdict.

“I want her to remain here because she still has claims against her employer,” Tellez said.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Cheung returned the verdict nearly a month after a three-day trial in which Chua and the arresting officer testified for the prosecution. Narcelles also took the stand in her defense, while her former employer, Portia Cheung, testified to vouch for the helper’s integrity.

Addressing the court on Dec 31, Narcelles said she was sure there was no ring in her luggage when she packed it before going to bed at dawn on Sept 9, so she was shocked to find it there. She cried when a video segment showing the ring and other items on her palm was played back.

The defendant had worked for Chua for just two weeks when she was accused of theft and arrested.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Asked by the defense lawyer how she came to know the ring was valued at $100,000, the helper said it was what the prosecution had told her and what the receipt showed.

Chua said in her evidence that she fired the helper, who she paid $6,000 a month, because she damaged some expensive silverware and a Versace tableware, and stained her costly clothes and bra during washing.

After the verdict, the defence lawyer showed reporters photocopies of a jewelry box with three gem-studded watches, a pair of diamond earrings and an encircled empty spot where the ring was supposedly stolen from. He also showed a photocopy of shots of the ring, which looked inexpensive.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

Cheung, who had vouched for Narcelles’ character when she gave evidence for the defense, said after the verdict that she decided to help her former employee because she knew she was honest and good.

“If I could, I would have rehired her,” Cheung said of Narcelles, who worked for her for two years. The employer, who was identified in court as a director of a Korean company, said the pandemic had caused her financial difficulties.

“I know her very well, she’s basically a straightforward and happy person. It’s not easy to be away from home and working,” Cheung said.

She said she offered Narcelles to stay in her home after her release “because of my good relationship with her – she’s not a person who lies.”  

CALL US NOW!

CALL US TO TRY!

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Don’t lie, OFWs in money laundering scam told, as more arrested

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Syndicate members used the Filipinas' ATM cards to launder money through their bank accounts

Two more Filipino domestic helpers have been arrested by police in connection with a money laundering scam in which migrant women were convinced to hand over their ATM cards for moving huge amounts of illicit money.

This was disclosed today, Jan. 27, by the Consulate, which said that all the six workers arrested so far had contacted the assistance to nationals section for advice regarding their predicament.

But Consul Paulo Saret, who heads ATN, said he could not confirm reports that 11 others had been arrested.

Pindutin para sa detalye

He said two of the accused had gone to the ATN to fill up reporting forms, one was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport as she tried to fly out, and three had called but have not yet shown up.

He said earlier that two of the six were picked up by police in Tuen Mun and another two in Tseung Kwan O.

Saret said ATN staff had been advising the so-called “willing victims” to tell the truth and cooperate with the police investigating the scam to get hold of the perpetrators.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

He urged other workers who have fallen prey to the money laundering syndicate to contact the Consulate for advice.

One of those arrested lied to police about losing her ATM card

Earlier, two of the workers told The SUN that they were fired by their employers after learning of their involvement in the illegal operation.

The two, C.P. and M.N., said they were deceived into the scheme when they responded to an online offer of part-time jobs that would pay $2,000 or more a week.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

M.N. said she learned about that job offer from a friend who heard of their financial need and gave them a phone number to call. She and C.P. contacted the number and a Filipina said all they had to do was to open a bank account where their earnings would be paid.

The woman directed them to an HSBC branch where another Filipina helped them in opening accounts. The woman then collected the ATMs that were issued to them on the spot, saying the businessmen hiring them needed the cards for a week.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

On the advice of friends, one of the women told the police following her arrest that she lost her ATM.

The two workers said they were surprised to get online notices from the bank about unusual activity in their accounts, but when they told their Filipina contact about this, she told them to just delete the messages.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

C.P. said she panicked when police knocked on her employers’ door to arrest her. M.N. got scared upon hearing that her friend and a few others had been arrested since mid-January.

All the workers have been dismissed from work after their arrest and are now living in boarding houses, except for the one picked up at the airport who is now in detention, 

CALL US NOW!

CALL US TO TRY!

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Filipina DH filmed slapping and shaking boy’s head jailed 2 weeks

By Vir B. Lumicao

The estate in Kowloon City where the assault victim and his family live.

A 27-year-old Filipina domestic helper was sentenced today, Jan 27, to two weeks in jail by a Kowloon City magistrate after pleading guilty a fortnight ago to a charge of common assault for slapping her 5-year-old boy ward.

Ana Marie Ochavillo, single, stood in the dock without emotion as Magistrate Yu Chun-pong read the sentence.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Yu said he was adopting a custodial sentence to send a clear message the offense must not be tolerated, especially since the victim was a child who was under the helper’s care. 

The magistrate said he gave a one-third discount to what should have been he sentence because Ochavillo admitted the offence at the earliest opportunity.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Before the sentencing, the defense lawyer presented a psychiatrist report that certified the helper did not have any psychological disorder.

He also begged for a lenient sentence, saying the defendant had already been detained for more than two weeks, had pleaded guilty at the earliest instance, and that the offense was due to a momentary outburst for which she was remorseful.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

The sentence means Ochavillo had already served her sentence, as she had been in police custody since her arrest on Jan 11. Two officers from the Consulate went to the holding area after the sentencing to assist in her discharge.

Ochavillo was hired by her female employer, surnamed Yeung, in January 2019. She was about to finish her first contract and had already signed a renewal contract when the incident happened at the employer’s flat in Parc Regal, Homantin Hill, Kowloon City.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

 

According to court records, Yeung was awakened by her son’s cries in the living room at about 8:30am on Jan 11. She went out to check and the boy told her that the helper slapped him in the face and pulled his hair.

Yeung checked the living room CCTV and saw Ochavillo pulling the boy’s hair and shaking his head for about 2 seconds, then slapping his head once while feeding him. The mother reported to the police at 9:31am and the helper was arrested.

Pindutin para sa detalye

The prosecution said during investigation, the defendant admitted the offense, saying that the boy was naughty. On Jan 12, she was charged in court where she pleaded guilty.

CALL US NOW!

CALL US TO TRY!

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Partial evacuation ordered for North Pt building as 60 new Covid-19 cases reported

By The SUN 

8 confirmed & 5 preliminary cases were found in Tung Fat Bldg in North Point

Thirteen residents of a 56-year-old housing block in North Point have been found infected with Covid-19, triggering a partial evacuation of the building.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said today, Jan 27, that eight people living in Tung Fat building on Kam Ping Street had tested positive, while five were found preliminary positive.

Chuang said there were eight affected flats, which are on different floors. However, seven face the same direction.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Covered by the evacuation and quarantine order are residents of units six and seven of block C, where all the infected patients live. Experts say residents there share the same narrow light well, which could have caused the virus to spread vertically.

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung who inspected Tung Fat building earlier today said the ventilation system there is not good.

"If the residents don't open their windows while their exhaust fans are on, the heat wave will easily go up [the light well] and create vertical transmission," Yuen told reporters.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

He also noted that some of the residents had reported an odd smell in their toilets from time to time, and they believe this too, was coming from the light well.

“So we have reasons to believe there is a danger to residents of C-6 and C-7 if they continue to stay there,” said Yuen.

Chuang and Lau in today's Covid-19 press briefing

The coronavirus cases from the building were among 60 reported today, of which all but three were locally acquired. Of the 57 local cases, 21 were of unknown source, while the rest were linked to previous infections.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

The three imported cases were returnees from the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and the United States.

There were about 40 preliminary positive cases.

Among today’s local cases with unknown sources are six staff of Wing Ming congee shop in Hung Hom, four of whom are from the same family. A seventh preliminary positive case has also been detected there.

 

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Chuang said other staff will be sent to quarantine, and no customers have been found infected so far.

She urged everyone who had been to the congee shop recently to take a test, saying customers were at high risk, given the number of people found infected there.

Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority reported that two patients had passed away in the past 24 hours, including a 56-year-old woman who died shortly after testing preliminary positive for Covid-19.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

The woman with chronic illness was rushed to Kwong Wah hospital yesterday morning due to shortness of breath. She suffered a cardiac arrest, and had to be intubated. But after this, her heart rate picked up, so she was transferred to an isolation ward for treatment. Her condition rapidly deteriorated, however, and she died at 4:22pm.

The other casualty was a 67-year-old confirmed male patient who succumbed at 8:26am today at United Christian Hospital.

The deaths brought to 169 the number of confirmed patients who have passed away in public hospitals so far.

Meanwhile, a so-called “ambush lockdown” – or one for which no prior notice was made -was put into effect overnight on two streets in Yau Ma Tei. During the 11-hour lockdown, a total of 330 people were tested for Covid-19, and one positive case was uncovered.

A similar lockdown on an entire block of flats in Jordan was carried out during the weekend. More than 7,000 people were tested, and 13 were found to have the coronavirus.

CALL US NOW!

CALL US TO TRY!

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS