Filipino resident jailed nearly 4 years for rape

By Vir B. Lumicao

High Court judge says defendant's failure to use condom made the rape worse 

A Hong Kong-born Filipino man who has pleaded guilty to raping a relative of his sister-in-law in January last year in Lantau was sentenced today, Apr 12, in the High Court to 3 years and 10 months in jail.

Mark Angelo Roxas was sentenced by Court of First Instance Judge Douglas Yau who  had postponed sentencing until a psychologist’s report on the defendant was submitted to him.

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The report said the defendant might have misread the victim’s replies to his suggestion of making love with her as giving consent to his wishes.

In sentencing, Yau pointed out that the offense happened inside the flat of the victim, a Filipina resident. Roxas, an invited guest, had assaulted the victim, identified only as “X,” while she was asleep, and didn’t even bother to wear a condom to protect the victim.

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For the rape, Yau applied the minimum sentence of 5 years but added 9 months for Roxas not wearing a condom during the attack. After giving a discount for the defendant’s guilty plea, the judge came up with 3 years and 10 months.

But as Roxas had been detained since his arrest on Jan 30 last year, he has now served over a year, and will remain in jail for the remaining part of his sentence.

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The victim was identified in court as a cousin of the wife of Roxas’ elder brother, and the two had known each other for some time.

The court was told Roxas was born in Hong Kong to a Filipino permanent resident. He had moved to Macau for work but had visited Hong Kong to spend the Christmas holiday with his father and sibling.

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The incident happened on Jan 30 after the victim invited her friends and family to her flat in Tung Chung for drinks after they had all gathered for a barbecue.

At 2:30am, X excused herself from the party and went to her bedroom to sleep but left the door unlocked. She awoke around 5am when she sensed someone was thrusting something in her genitals, and found the defendant lying behind her in bed.

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X said Roxas penetrated her about 10 times and, when he was done, rose naked from the waist down and left the room. She followed him to the living room and hit his head with a frying pan.

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Roxas escaped and went to the hospital to have his head injury treated, telling staff he had an accident. But by then, his brother had already called the police, who tracked the defendant down and arrested him.

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‘NCR Plus 4’ down to MECQ, as Covid-19 cases near 865k

By The SUN

Despite the lockdown, thousands lined up for 'ayuda' or financial assistance

The Philippines government will ease the quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) and four adjacent provinces starting tomorrow, Monday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced today, Apr 11, that the five areas will be placed under the less stringent modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), citing as one of the reasons the pledge of hospitals to increase beds for Covid-19 cases.

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His announcement came as the Department of Health reported another spike in the number of new coronavirus cases. Sunday’s 11,681 new cases pushed the country’s overall tally to 864,868. Of the total tally, 145,519 cases remain active, or 16.9% of the total.

But with the economy coming at a virtual standstill for the past 14 days because of the lockdown under the previous enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) arrangement, businesses had been calling for a resumption of activities.

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According to Roque, the move to MECQ was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte at the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Covid-19 response.

But he said the details of the new quarantine arrangement will be known only during his regular press briefing on Monday.

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At least one notable change has been reported, though, which was the shortening of the curfew hours in Metro Manila from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Previously, the curfew was from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The change was announced in a statement by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which said the shortened curfew hours will last from Apr 12 to 30.

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No similar announcement was made for the four provinces that will move to MECQ along with Metro Manila.

The curfew in Metro Manila will be shortened by 2 hours

Roque said the MECQ will also be enforced in Abra and the city of Santiago in Quirino province.

Meanwhile, the following areas will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ), which is a degree lower in severity than MECQ:

-Cordillera Administrative Region

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-Batangas province

-Tacloban City

-Iligan City

-Davao City

-Lanao del Sur province

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-Quezon province

The rest of the country will be placed under modified GCQ.

ECQ was imposed on the so-called NCR Plus bubble on Mar 29 in the wage of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the area.

Originally intended to last for only seven days over the long Holy Week break, the order was extended for another week as record numbers of infections were being reported each day.

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HK posts 2 local, 11 imported Covid-19 cases

By Vir B. Lumicao

There are now 6 confirmed cases in Oi Fai House

Health officials today, Apr 11, confirmed 13 new coronavirus patients, two of whom are local cases linked to an outbreak in a public housing estate in Tuen Mun. Of the 11 imported cases, five carried the dreaded N501Y variant.

The Centre for Health Protection said the two local cases, a 71-year-old male retiree and a 63-year-old housewife, were relatives who live in Unit 32, Block 3, Oi Fai House in You Oi Estate in Tuen Mun. The two were earlier classified as preliminary positive.

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The man developed a sore throat and fever on Apr 7 while the woman was asymptomatic. They brought to six the number of total infections from the housing block, which has been partially evacuated amid fears of environmental contamination.

The additional confirmed cases took the total tally in Hong Kong to 11,582.

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CHP said there were more than 10 preliminary positive cases.

In the past 14 days, a total of 123 new cases were recorded. Twenty-five of these were local cases, of which 10 were of unknown origin.

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Four of the five imported cases found to have the highly infectious coronavirus strain were two men aged 64 and 74 from Pakistan, and two men aged 28 and 41 from India, a CHP staff said.

She said the fifth patient with the variant was a man aged 25 Bangladesh who arrived on Mar 29 and tested positive on his 12^th day of hotel quarantine.

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Among the new cases were two female domestic workers, an Indonesian aged 38 and an Indian aged 26, who both arrived last Friday, the spokeswoman said.

Two Indian patients in today's list flew via Vistara's suspended flight, UK6395

The other imported cases involved an Indonesian man aged 79 who arrived from Surabaya and two Indian men aged 37 and 29 who arrived from New Delhi on Apr 4 via Vistara SIA Flight UK6395.

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They developed symptoms on Apr 10 while in quarantine at Ramada Hong Kong Grandview Hotel in North Point.

The airline has already been suspended from flying to Hong Kong until Apr 19 after five of its passengers in a single flight had tested positive upon arrival.

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Air India, which had been banned at least six times in the past for the same reason, flew today’s four other infected passengers from New Delhi, including the two with N501Y variant.

The Hospital Authority said a total of 125 confirmed patients are now being treated in 21 public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre. Seven of the patients are in critical condition, three are serious and the remaining 115 stable, the HA said.

Meanwhile, Prof David Hui from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, again urged the administration not to relax social distancing measures yet.

Hui, who is also a government adviser on the Covid-19 strategy, said that despite the drop in number of new cases in recent days, it is too early to ease anti-epidemic measures further, like capping the number of diners to four per table in restaurants.

He warned that any resurgence could dash Hong Kong’s hopes of resuming travel with the mainland and other places.

“We are only seeing sporadic cases, but unfortunately sometimes the cases are of unknown source, and this reflects there are still cases causing community transmission. So, at this stage I think it would be very difficult to relax all the social distancing measures,” he said.

“I think the government is keen to develop travel bubbles and also open the border between Hong Kong and China, so, if you relax the social distancing measures at this stage, it may lead to a rebound, so I think the government needs to be more cautious,” he said.

Hui supported the government’s decision to shelve plans to procure a third vaccine, saying Hong Kong has sufficient Sinovac and BioNTech jabs in store to inoculate the entire population. 

The government can reserve the money for second-generation vaccines with a higher efficacy against mutated virus strains, he said.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan has earlier said the government will postpone shipments of AstraZeneca vaccines, the third brand being procured by Hong Kong, amid concerns that it is causing blood clots, particularly among women.

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12,674 new Covid-19 cases reported in Philippines, raising total to over 853k

Underlined figures show the day's tally plus overall infection figure

The Philippines recorded an additional 12,674 Covid-19 cases Saturday, raising the total tally to 853,209.

The number of active cases also rose to an all-time high of 190,245, representing 22.3% of the total figure. But of these, 96.9% of all the infected patients only have mild symptoms, or are asymptomatic.

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This is the third highest daily figure recorded since the pandemic broke out in January last year.

The recovery figure rose to 76%, after 593 confirmed patients recovered.

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An additional 225 patients passed away, raising the death toll to 14,744.

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5 new Covid-19 cases include 3 imported & 2 from infected Tuen Mun block

By The SUN 

Oi Fai residents are evacuated and taken to quarantine centers (RTHK photo)

Residents of block 3 of Oi Fai House, Yau Oi Estate in Tuen Mun were evacuated in two batches on Friday and Saturday after two more people were found infected with Covid-19, raising the number of confirmed cases there to four.

Two preliminary positive cases were also reported from the building, according to a press statement issued by the Centre for Health Protection on Saturday, Apr 10.

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Meanwhile, the three imported cases all involved newly arrived travelers who tested positive while in hotel quarantine. They included a 25 year old female from the Philippines, a 47-year-old female from Pakistan, and a 42-year-old male from India.

The Filipina was asymptomatic, while the two others developed symptoms on Apr 8.

The two new local cases include a 66-year old man and a 6-year-old boy from Oi Fai House.

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Including the two preliminary cases, six people from the block have come down with the virus.

On Friday night, the building was partially evacuated after experts warned that the virus was likely transmitted via the building's pipes.

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Residents of units 09 on every floor of Oi Fai House were the first to be sent to quarantine.

Three of the Covid-19 cases live in that unit on the 21st to 23rd floors. The fourth case lives in a different unit on the 22nd floor, and experts who inspected the building said she may have picked up the virus in a different way.

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On Saturday, two more residents in unit 32 were found preliminary positive, prompting the decision to move everyone living in units 10, 31 and 32 to quarantine centers.

The CHP said investigation showed that units 09 and 10, as well as units 31 and 32, separately share a soil pipe.

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University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said after the inspection that one of the flats had two exhaust fans in the kitchen, and these fans may have sucked the virus in after creating negative pressure in the room.

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The expert also said it could not be ascertained if the virus only traveled downwards, so to be on the safe side, they decided to move all residents living in the designated units on every floor to quarantine centers.

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5 Filipinas detained for alleged shop thefts denied bail

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The 5 accused are said to have a string of prior convictions 

Four in a group of five Filipinas facing theft charges hugged each other and cheered in the dock at noon on Apr 9, after an Eastern Court magistrate said he would review their bail applications.

But their joy was short-lived when Magistrate Peter Law told each of them that their bail requests were refused due to previous convictions and the risk that they may re-offend or abscond.

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The five, Eleanor Gagni, Liexel Retrita, Ma Consuelo Novo, Virginia Moradella and Loida Figueroa, were arrested in February for alleged shop thefts in North Point.  

Four of them, excluding Moradella, were charged in Tuen Mun Court on Feb 13. The defense lawyer said Moradella was absent at the time because she was in quarantine.

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When the prosecutor asked for a three-week adjournment for legal advice, Law initially objected, saying the defendants had been in detention since February.

The prosecutor said a miscommunication with the police caused the delay in the investigation, which was completed only on Mar 31.

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The defense lawyer did not object to the adjournment, saying he had not yet seen the investigator’s report and needed time to study it, as there were five defendants and five different offences.

The prosecutor said charges 1-4 occurred one after the other in North Point on Jan 3, Feb 8 and Feb 10. She said the suspects were caught on CCTV committing the offenses.

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She also said Moradella and Figueroa are illegal immigrants, but the defense lawyer objected, saying Moradella is not in Hong Kong illegally. 

Gagni, the first defendant, had four previous convictions for shop theft and four other unrelated offenses, the prosecutor said.

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She said Retrita had five previous convictions, and was under a suspended sentence for three previous theft convictions when she got involved in the present case. Figueroa had three previous unrelated convictions but jumped police and immigration bail.

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The prosecutor asked that the accused be held without bail because of their previous convictions, and the magistrate agreed. He remanded all of them in custody, along with  Moradella who did not apply for bail.

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Law also rejected the prosecution’s request for a three-week adjournment and set the next hearing for Apr 15.

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