Responsive Ad Slot

Latest

Sponsored

Features

Buhay Pinay

People

Sports

Business Ideas for OFWs

Join us at Facebook!

FDWs told, don’t rely on agencies to ensure your visa status

Posted on 27 April 2021 No comments

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Rachel says her misplaced trust in her agent led her to be charged with overstaying

A migrant support organization is warning foreign domestic workers to make sure the employment agencies that promised them jobs did submit their new work contracts to the Immigration Department, or they might end up overstaying their visas.

This comes amid reports made to the Mission for Migrant Workers that several FDWs had ended up overstaying because they relied on their recruiters’ word that their new employment contracts were already under process by Immigration.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

One such case involves Rachel G., who did not realize she had already overstayed her visa for three months because she was all the while thinking that she had a pending employment contract under consideration by Immigration.

Rachel, 42,  said she did go to Immigration a couple of times, and each time, she was just asked for proof that her new employment contract was already being processed so she need not ask for a visa extension.

Pindutin para sa detalye

What Rachel showed the officers were the text messages between her and her agent she knew only as Benson, who repeatedly assured her that the employment contract she signed on Dec. 28 last year was already with Immigration.

She said she trusted Benson, who reportedly holds office in Sai Kung and Ma On Shan, because he was the one who placed her with her previous employer.

Once, Benson even went to Immigration with her, and gave the officer the name and number of the elderly woman who was supposed to hire Rachel. The officer reportedly called the would-be employer to confirm the contract.

PRESS HERE FOR DETAILS

But on Apr 19, Monday, Rachel was finally told no employment contract was submitted in her name. She was directed to go to the visa extension counter, where it was found out that her last day of visa was as stamped in her passport, which was Feb 3 this year.

Immediately, Rachel was taken to custody, and detained for the next two days. On Apr 22, she appeared in Shatin Magistrates Court, charged with violating her visa conditions.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

She pleaded guilty, but said it was only because she was advised by her duty lawyer that if she denied the charge, she could be imprisoned for a month and a half.

Rachel is now out on recognizance, meaning she is not being sent back home just yet while she considers whether she should file an appeal within the 14 days she was given after her sentence.

She said Benson, who operates two agencies in Sai Kung and Ma On Shan whose names she could not be sure of because they were written in Chinese, is no longer taking her calls. 

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

Quite belatedly, Rachel again turned for help to the Mission, which just six years ago, had picked her up in the wee hours outside a hotel in Western, where she ended up after being terminated by a previous employer.

Since that fateful day, Rachel had gone back to her home in Antipolo City, but returned to Hong Kong and finished a two-year contract in November last year. That was when she crossed paths with Benson, who secured her a new employer. However, she was dismissed after only a month.

But because she felt the agent had looked after her well, Rachel decided to cast her lot with him again. It was an unfortunate decision that led to her being arrested, handcuffed, and held in jail for two days, before being convicted of a crime, which at the very least, she did not have any intention of committing.

Once again, the Mission has come to her rescue. Case officer Edwina Antonio is pleading her case with Immigration, and has made an appointment with a renowned human rights lawyer to seek other remedies that could be pursued so Rachel is given justice.

Antonio says FDWs should not rely on anyone to ensure they remain in HK legally

Antonio says Rachel's does not appear to be an isolated case, as she had reported on four other people who claimed to have found themselves in the same situation when she was being interviewed by Immigration officers.

Mukhang maraming mga stranded workers na hindi naipapasa ng agency ang mga papeles sa Immigration kaya sila na-overstay,” said Antonio.

(Many workers stranded her end up overstaying their visas because the agency failed to submit their documents to Immigration).

She said the Mission can only speculate on the motivation behind the seemingly deliberate attempts by agencies, or people purporting to be legitimate recruiters, to mislead migrant workers into thinking their continuous stay in Hong Kong is assured.

One reason she could think of is money, especially if the worker is charged upfront for an amount that is way above the legal limit, which is 10% of the first monthly salary.

In Rachel’s case, while she was not asked for money outright, she said she had been in touch with a Filipino couple who claimed to have paid Benson at least $10,000, and now fear suffering the same fate as she had.

She also recalled being told by Benson that she would have to pay his agency after her new employment visa was approved. 

A recent search of the agency names Benson reportedly used showed that neither is registered with the Employment Agencies Administration of the HK Labour Department, which could also be why he did not file an employment contract for her as he promised.

Another reason could be the intense competition among agencies to secure as many clients as possible from the fast  dwindling number of FDWs in Hong Kong who are being allowed by Immigration to process new employment contracts here. That could lead them to lie about getting them a new employer, just so the worker does not go to another agency.

Antonio said that whatever the reason, Filipino helpers who are hoping to be allowed to remain in Hong Kong after their work contracts are prematurely terminated should ensure that they do not fall foul with the law by taking charge of their own affairs.

They should not rely on agents or other people who might assure them that their work status is being looked after, because ultimately, it is their own future which is at stake. 

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call Us!
CALL US NOW!
Call us!

https://leade7.wixsite.com/thesunads/asiandragon
PADALA NA!

2 more Filipinas linked to ATM scam held by police

Posted on No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao 

All the ATM cards used in the money laundering scam were issued by HSBC

Police have arrested at least two more Filipina domestic workers who had allegedly lent their bank ATM cards to scammers who used the cards to launder money derived from illegal activities.  

They include one who went to the police in February to voluntarily tell the story of how her ATM card was used in the scam after she gave it to a fellow Filipina helper named Gemmalyn.

The same woman reportedly asked the detained helper to collect the ATM cards of other Filipina DHs who responded to a Facebook ad about parttime jobs.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

The arrested Filipina told The SUN she was picked up from her employer’s house in Tin Hau on Apr 22, and turned over to the Kwun Tong Police Station for investigation. She said she was accused of deception.

The other helper was arrested by police in her employer’s home in Tai Po last month and held overnight, according to an FDH support group. But there has been no word from her since, and it’s not known if she is still with her employer.

Both Filipinas were released on bail after a police investigation. The arrests followed a report made to the government’s Anti-Money Laundering Coordination Centre by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp about suspicious transactions in their accounts.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Previously, about a dozen other Filipina helpers were arrested in connection with the scam. Six have sought the Consulate’s help after their arrests. A few have managed to leave Hong Kong even while investigations are ongoing.

As in the previous arrests, the two were instructed to report back on designated dates once a month to the police units that picked them up.

“Buti na-recover ko ang [Messenger] account ko...nasa police ang CP ko. Napuntahan ako ng police nung Huwebes sa bahay ng bago kong amo, umalis kasi ako sa dati kong amo. Pinababa nila ako nung Friday,” said the helper who was nabbed last week.

PRESS HERE FOR DETAILS

(It’s good I’ve recovered my [Messenger] account…the police are keeping my phone. The police fetched me from the house of my new employer, as I have already left my previous employer. The new employers asked me to leave last Friday.)

She told The SUN that she had moved in with her new employer only on Mar 3.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Since her dismissal, she has been to the employment agency that placed her with her last employer, but it is now reluctant to again help her because of her police case.

Meantime, Gemmalyn has reportedly made herself scarce after several Filipina helpers were arrested by the police in the weeks before Christmas and after the New Year.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

The alleged conduit reportedly kept creating new Facebook accounts and assuming other names. All those accounts are now closed and she can no longer be contacted. 

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call Us!
CALL US NOW!
Call us!

https://leade7.wixsite.com/thesunads/asiandragon
PADALA NA!


 

Filipina DH jailed 2 years for stealing employer’s jewelry worth $1.2 M

Posted on 26 April 2021 No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The theft happened in this luxury residential block in Homantin

A Filipina domestic helper who stole nearly $1.2 million worth of watches and jewelry from her employer in Homantin after getting mired in debt was sentenced in District Court today to two years in jail after she pleaded guilty to the offence.

Edarlyn Emperador, 51, broke into tears as her sentence was read out to her by Judge David John Dufton.

She had worked for her employer, Leung Ho-yan Irene, since 1996.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

The prosecution said the defendant stole seven watches, four necklaces with pendants, 11 pairs of earrings, six pendants, six rings, four necklaces and eight gold ingots, all worth a total of $1.189 million, from her employer.

The theft occurred between Apr 16 and Jul 17 last year in the employer’s flat on Block 18, Celestial Heights, Homantin.

But Leung said the helper also stole other jewelry items she could no longer recall well, between October 2019 and August 2020.  

Pindutin para sa detalye

The theft was discovered around 8pm by Leung on Aug 3 last year as she searched for her missing $60,000 Rolex watch. When she opened her locked wardrobe drawer, she found out her other watches and jewelry were also gone.

Leung confronted Emperador about the missing items on the evening of Aug 6 and the helper readily admitted the theft. She said she opened the drawer with a key, took the items, pawned them and sent the money to the Philippines.

Leung reported to police the next day. When officers arrested her, they found a plastic bag in her trouser pocket that contained four pawnshop receipts for watches amounting to $123,000 and two pawnshop receipts for two gold chains amounting to $25,000.

Call us!

Emperador, a single mother of five adult children, pleaded guilty after the theft charge was read to her.

In mitigation, defense lawyer Jim Sherry requested a lenient sentence, saying his client admitted the offense at the first instance and did so again during a police investigation on Aug 7 last year.

He also cited his client’s letter to the court expressing her remorse, saying she committed the offense “for my own expenses and the rest I sent to the Philippines.”  

The District Court judge dismissed Emperador's attempts to get her sentence cut

Sherry then narrated the events that reportedly led Emperador to steal from her employer of close to 24 years.

CONTACT US!

He said Emperador, the sole provider for her parents, siblings and five children, incurred huge debts to pay for her mother’s hospital expenses when she fell ill last year and was twice confined in a hospital.

In 1998, Emperador’s husband left her for another woman, leaving their three children with her. Emperador found a new partner who sired her two younger boys.

Her partner was shot dead in 2016 due to a debt from a loan shark. She had to take out another loan to pay that debt. Then on Apr 16 last year, her brother was also shot dead and she was asked to support his young daughter.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Meantime, her father was diagnosed with lung cancer, and also depended on her for his medication.

Her family problems led Emperador to borrow $40,000 from Leung, which she offered to repay from her salary in monthly installments of $5,500.

She took another $55,000 loan from Leung, and borrowed from a lending firm in the Philippines, raising her debt there to over Php1 million.

PRESS HERE FOR DETAILS

Already buried in debt and unable to send money home out of the $500 that remained in her salary, she began to steal from Leung in April last year, Sherry said.

At the time, Leung allegedly stopped paying her salary because she could not meet her monthly payment for her $55,000 loan.

“She stole to pay the other loans she borrowed in the Philippines. She did not steal her employer’s property and leave Hong Kong for the Philippines,” Sherry said.

But the judge expressed “real reservations” as to Emperador’s motive for the offence, noting she had told police she stole the items out of greed, and had stolen and pawned more jewels than necessary to clear her debts.

He asked why the helper did not pay off her debts in the Philippines with the nearly $300,000 proceeds of her pawning the stolen items.

The judge also said the defendant never told the police the supposed tragedies in her life that led her to steal, or that Leung had stopped paying her salary.

But Dufton said he did not want the case to become a labor issue. After twice calling for an adjournment to clarify the defense lawyer’s grounds for mitigation, the judge said he could not consider any of the cited reasons in reducing the sentence.

Dufton imposed a sentence of two years’ imprisonment, giving a discount only for Emperador’s guilty plea. 

List of stolen items

 

Qty

Item

 

1

Rolex watch with gold band

 

1

Robert Dubuis watch

 

1

Patek Philippe watch with brown band

 

1

Patek Philippe watch with silver band

 

1

Patek Philippe watch with gold band

 

11 pairs

Hermes earrings

 

1

Robert Dubuis necklace with pendant

 

8 pcs

gold ingots

 

6 pcs

pendants

 

1

Waltham watch

 

6 pcs

rings

 

4 pcs

necklaces

 

1

Piaget watch with platinum band

 

   
BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call Us!
CALL US NOW!

 

HK, Singapore agree on quarantine-free travel starting May 26

Posted on No comments

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Singapore's Marina Bay Sands (FB photo)

Hong Kong and Singapore have announced details of their “travel bubble” agreement, which allows their residents to travel freely between the two places without undergoing quarantine.

Secretary for Commerce and Development Edward Yau unveiled the resumption of the plan today, Apr 26, in a press conference. The scheme was put on hold in November last year after Hong Kong experienced a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Yau said travelers on either places will have to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours before taking their flights, and be tested again on their arrival on the other end.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

 

In addition, Hong Kong residents will have to get fully vaccinated for coronavirus before being allowed to travel to Singapore. However, those coming in from the city state are not required to get vaccinated.

Asked about the seemingly unequal requirements, Yau said Singapore authorities will have to decide on the travel rules from their end, “taking into consideration their own situation.”

Pindutin para sa detalye

The initial phase of the scheme will run from May to June 9, during which there will be two designated daily flights, each leaving either Hong Kong or Singapore with a maximum number of 200 passengers.

From Jun 10, the daily flights will be increased to two from each direction, with the same number of passengers.

Call us!

Yau said the travel bubble could be suspended for two weeks if the seven-day “moving average” of unlinked coronavirus cases in either place goes up to five.

The government, though Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip, also announced that all Hong Kong residents stranded in the Mainland will be allowed to return home from Apr 29 without need for quarantine.

CONTACT US!

Previously, the privilege was extended only to residents coming back to the SAR from Guangdong Province and Macau.

HK residents coming in from anywhere in the Mainland can now skip quarantine on their return 

To ensure a quarantine-free return, residents need to register in advance for a slot in the daily quota of  3,000 if coming through the land border via the Shenzhen Bay port; 2,000 for those taking the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge; and 1,000 through the HK airport.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

They will also have to test negative for a coronavirus test within three days before their flight, and again on arrival in Hong Kong, then 12 days after.

Nip said there’s still no news on when Hong Kong travelers arriving in the mainland will be similarly exempt from the quarantine requirement.  


PRESS HERE FOR DETAILS

Meanwhile, four additional Covid-19 cases were reported in Hong Kong today, all of them imported.

A press release issued by the Center for Health Protection showed all the infected travelers had tested positive while in hotel quarantine, and came from different places.

They comprised two women, who each came from Kenya and India; and two men who arrived from Japan and the United States.

The CHP said a total of 155 cases have been recorded in the past 14 days, including 37 local infections of which 17 are from unknown sources.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call Us!
CALL US NOW!

 

Filipinas arrested for illegal gambling released on bail

Posted on No comments


By Vir B. Lumicao 

The 11 Filipinas were held at the Central Police HQ for at least 8 hours 

All 11 Filipina domestic helpers who were arrested by police during an anti-illegal gambling operation on Murray Road near Charter Garden in Central on Sunday morning have been released on bail, the Hong Kong Police said today, Apr 26.

No charges have been laid against the 11 as investigations are still ongoing, a police spokeswoman said.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

The officer added that the Filipinas were ordered to report back to the Central Police District Headquarters in Sheung Wan in late May.

The police also confirmed that the women were issued fixed penalty tickets of $5,000 each for breaching the group gathering rules under Regulation 599G, or the Prevention and Control of Diseases.

Pindutin para sa detalye

In the wake of the arrests, Consul Paulo Saret said the Consulate is issuing an advisory this evening enjoining the Filipino community to abide by Hong Kong’s laws and avoid gambling.

PRESS HERE FOR DETAILS

“It’s sad that there are still kababayans of ours who choose to gamble on the streets on their rest day despite our numerous advisories against illegal gambling,” Saret said.

Call us!

The helpers were arrested at about 8:30 am on Sunday during a police crackdown on illegal gambling in Central.

They were allegedly playing cards with bets on Murray Road near Chater Garden when members of the Special Duty Squad, Task Force Sub-unit of the Central District, and the Police Tactical Unit pounced on them.

CONTACT US!

Police said several exhibits including playing cards and an unspecified amount of gambling money were confiscated from the women.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

The SAR prohibits all forms of gambling, except for Mark Six and horse racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which are fund-raising activities for charitable causes. 

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call Us!
CALL US NOW!
Don't Miss