Bail refused for 4 Pinoy asylum-seekers accused of sexual assault on girl

 

Hindi pinayagan ng korte na magpiyansa ang 5 nasasakdal 

Four Filipino and one Bangladeshi recognizance holders accused of assaulting and committing indecent conduct towards a 10-year-old girl on Jan 3 in Yuen Long, were denied bail when they appeared in Tuen Mun court on May 10.

The five were sent back to jail after Principal Magistrate Don So agreed to the prosecution’s request for an 8-month adjournment, and opposition to allow the accused to be released on bail.

The next hearing of the case has been set down for July 5, but the defendants are allowed to make another bail application on May 17.

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In opposing the bail application, the prosecution said the accused might return to the place where the offence took place, interfere with the investigation, or jump bail.

The prosecutor added that all four separate charges pertain to the same incident that happened on Jan 3 in a flat on Kun Um Road in Yuen Long.

The prosecution is still seeking further legal advice, she said.

First to be charged with “indecent conduct towards a child under 16 years” and “common assault” was Benhur Macaraig, 46. Police charged him on Jan 12, indicating they arrested him about 48 hours earlier.

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In the charges against him, his co-defendants were not identified by the police.

On Jan 14, police charged defendants Julie Arcega Jr., 32, and Gina Villareal, 51, with the same offences.

The fourth Filipino defendant, Jimwoel Macaraig, 53, was charged on Jan 17 while Bangladeshi MD Moazzim Hossain was charged shortly later.

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At Wednesday’s hearing, Arcega, a former construction worker, raised his bail offer to $8,000 from $5,000 previously, but his request was still denied.

J. Macaraig and B. Macaraig did not indicate the amount they were offering for bail, but their bids were also rejected.

During the committal hearing of the cases, the prosecutor said B. Macaraig was also facing a separate charge of wounding, and had three past criminal records. In addition, he jumped bail on immigration cases, the prosecutor said.

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According to the charges, the five defendants were neighbors of Girl X in the Tuen Mun village.

At the initial hearing, the prosecution said the victim was alone in the Tuen Mun flat when the defendants barged in and assaulted her.

No other details of the alleged offences were mentioned.  

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Filipina dies in Macau after getting whitening injections

 

Items seized from the Indonesian's flat included syringes and vials of the whitening chemical

An Indonesian domestic worker surnamed Endang has been arrested in Macau after a Filipina worker who received unauthorized glutathione injections from her has died.

This was according to the Macau News Agency, which reported the story on May 8.

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The Filipina, said to be in her ’30s, had shown symptoms of H1N1 flu, including high fever, for days, before she went to the Indonesian’s unit near Rua da Ribeira do Patane to receive the glutathione injections.

The next day, the Filipina was taken in critical condition to Hospital Centre S. Januario after her symptoms worsened, and she was diagnosed with H1N1 flu. 

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She died on May 6, with the preliminary findings showing the cause of death as complications from the flu virus.

Police then went to the suspect’s home and arrested her on suspicion of practising medicine without a licence. Seized from her flat were a large number of syringes, as well as the medicine used in the injections.

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During an initial investigation, Endang reportedly admitted administering the whitening jabs to at least 10 domestic workers and fellow Indonesians, and collecting M1,000 patacas for each session of four injections at one-week intervals.

Her whitening medication and paraphernalia were reportedly brought in from Indonesia.

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An investigation is now being carried out to determine if the Filipina had died from H1N1 or from complications from the whitening treatment.

Following the incident, Macau’s Health Bureau has urged the public to visit only licensed clinics run by qualified practitioners when seeking beauty treatments.

Officials also pledged to step up regulations and crack down on illicit practitioners.

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Pinay na sangkot sa money laundering, di nakadalo sa korte dahil sa sakit

 

Baka hindi raw sapat ang isang buwan para gumaling ang nasasakdal, ayon sa korte

Nakatakda sanang tanungin nang pormal ang dalawang akusado sa kasong sabwatan sa paggamit ng HKID card ng ibang tao at money laundering pero hindi ito natuloy nitong Martes, ika-9 ng Mayo, sa Shatin Court dahil maysakit ang isa sa kanila.

Ayon sa tagausig, si Lea Fonte ay nakaratay sa ospital dahil sa isang karamdaman.

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Ang kanyang kasamang nasasakdal, si Ricardo de Austria, ay dumating sa korte at humarap kay Mahistrado Cheng Lim-chi.

Nagtaka si Cheng dahil wala ang kanyang kapwa nasasakdal na si Fonte dahil lumang kaso na raw iyon.

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“Gusto sanang kuhanan ngayon ng prosekusyon ng samo (plea) ang dalawang nasasakdal, ngunit nasa ospital daw ngayon ang unang akusado. Sa katunayan ay nagpadala siya ng sulat mula sa ospital,” sabi ng tagausig.   

Matapos basahin ng hukom ang sulat ay hiniling ng manananggol ni Fonte na ipagpaliban ang pagdinig nang isang buwan.

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Pero ayon kay Cheng, batay sa sulat ay kinakailangang magamot muna si Fonte sa kanyang karamdaman. Baka hindi raw sasapat ang isang buwan para gumaling ang nasasakdal, kaya  itinakda ng mahistrado ang susunod na pagdinig sa ika-4 ng Hulyo.

Pinalawig ng hukom ang piyansa nina Fonte at De Austria hanggang sa bagong petsang itinakda para sa pagdinig.

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Walang binanggit sa korte tungkol sa detalye ng mga sakdal laban sa dalawa na sabwatan sa paggamit ng ID ng ibang tao, at sa kinasasangkutan nila umanong money laundering, o ang paglilinis ng perang galing sa krimen.

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Filipina torture claimant found guilty of drug possession

 

The Eastern Court magistrate asked how the defendant could pay for two flats 

A 39-year-old mother of six was found guilty Monday in Eastern Court, of a charge of possession of less than a gram of a dangerous drug after failing to convince the magistrate during trial that a packet of cannabis resin found in her rented room in Causeway Bay was not hers.

The defendant, M. Manrique, who arrived in court more than half an hour late for the verdict, was calm after Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai-man pronounced her ruling.

But Manrique broke into tears after the magistrate ordered her detained before her sentencing on May 22 pending a report from the Drug Addiction Testing Centre.

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The defendant, a non-refoulement applicant, cried uncontrollably saying no one would look after her two young daughters, before she was led away by the court police staff.

Manrique, who had two previous cases involving drugs, was arrested on Jan 21, 2022 by police who searched her rented rooms in a flat at 10 Yiu Wa Street  in Causeway Bay and found a small plastic bag containing 0.6 gram of cannabis resin.

Two police officers also found instruments used for smoking the illegal drug and resealable plastic packets for packing them.

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During her trial last month, the two officers gave evidence in court about their visit to the subdivided flat as part of an ati-illegal drugs operation. They found out that Manrique was renting two rooms, identified as Rooms A and C, for $5,500. 

While the first officer, Prosecution Witness 1 (PW1), was interviewing the defendant outside the rooms, PW2 searched the two rooms and found the packet containing the prohibited drug in Room C.

The defendant said she was staying in Room A and used the other room for her belongings. She denied that the drug found in Room C belonged to her and said someone else could have placed the stuff in the room.

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Magistrate Wat, however, said no one else could have hidden the illegal drug in Room C as it was locked.

Besides, it took the two officers 10 minutes to wait outside the flat for Manrique to open the door and did not know what happened inside during that period, Wat said. 

The magistrate also said she had doubts about how Manrique was able to pay for the $5,500 rent when she was receiving just $1,800 monthly rental allowance from Social Welfare and yet was also able to remit money to her four other children in the Philippines.

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Wat said the evidence given by the police officers, in particular PWC 2 who conducted the room search, was straightforward and credible. As such, the prosecution had proved their case against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.

In mitigation, the defense lawyer said Manrique was divorced from her husband and has six children, aged between 13 and 18 years old.

Four of them live in the Philippines, while the two younger ones were born in Hong Kong and are staying with her here. The lawyer said one of the children had passed away.

The lawyer pleaded for a lenient sentence, citing that the amount of cannabis resin was 0.69 gram only and that his client’s case was possession of illegal drugs, not drug trafficking.

Wat deferred the sentencing to May 22 pending the DATC report.

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Naki-zumba at nakipagsaya ang OWWA admin sa HK

Si Admin Arnell habang humahataw kasama ang mga OFW sa HK (OWWA photo)

Humataw nang todo si Administrator Arnell Ignacio ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration nang dumalo sa “Balik Saya sa Hong Kong” na ginanap sa Chater Road noong Linggo, Mayo 7.

Ginulat niya ang isang grupo ng mga nag su zumba nang bigla na lang siyang pumagitna at sumabay sa kanilang maindayog  na pagsasayaw.

Ang “Balik Saya” na palabas

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 sa iba-ibang lugar na maraming mga overseas Filipino workers ay ibinalik ng OWWA pagkatapos ng tatlong taong pagtigil dahil sa pandemya.

Ayon kay Ignacio, gusto nyang ibalik ang saya ng mga OFW na nalulungkot, lalo na iyong mga bagong labas pa lang ng bansa.

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Ang pasinaya sa Hong Kong na idinaos sa pakikipagtulungan ng Konsulado at iba-ibang sponsor na kumpanya ay inumpisahan sa isang parada at Flores de Mayo, at sayaw ng iba-ibang grupo sa umaga.

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Pagka tanghali ay bumuhos ang malakas na ulan, pero hindi naman natinag ang mga bisitang galing ng Maynila sa pagbibigay-aliw sa mga manonood.  Naging tampok na panauhin sina Cesar Montano, Rita Daniela, Boobay at Boobsie.

Binisita ng mga taga OWWA ang mga OFW na nakatira sa Bethune House

Bago ang kasiyahan ay dinalaw ni Ignacio ang mga OFW na nakatira sa shelter ng Migrant Workers Office at ang Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge upang pakinggan ang kanilang mga hinaing at magbigay ng kaunting tulong-pinansyal.

...at pati ang mga problemadong OFW na nasa shelter ng MWO

Muli ay ipinarating  sa kanya ni Edwina Antonio, executive director ng Bethune House, ang kahilingan ng mga OFW na nagka Covid dati na bigyan din sila ng ayudang US$200 na ipinagkait sa kanila dati dahil daw kulang sila sa pruwebang dokumento.

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Dagdag ni Laila Besana ng United Filipinos in Hong Kong sa isang komento sa Facebook account ng OWWA, “Mas masaya sana Overseas Workers Welfare Administration kung urgent ang aksyon kung ang OFWs ay humihingi ng tulong.”

“Huwag tabunan ng 1 araw na kasiyahan ang mga claimants ng Covid-19 assistance na hanggang ngayon ay wala pa.”

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Pinay na nag-overstay nang 2 taon, 7 linggong makukulong

 

Ikinulong pa rin ng mahistrado ang Pilipina kahit nagsabi itong payag na siyang umuwi

Isang 40-anyos na Pilipinang dating domestic helper ang ipinakulong kahapon, Mayo 8, ng isang mahistrado sa Shatin Law Courts matapos umamin sa sakdal na ilegal na pamamalagi sa Hong Kong nang dalawang taon matapos mapaso ang kanyang visitor visa noong 2015.

Humarap si Maricar Sotingco, isang single mother, kay Magistrate  Cheng Lim-chi  upang umamin sa sakdal na pananatili sa Hong Kong nang labag sa batas pagkaraan ng Agosto 13, 2015.

Ayon sa tagausig, dumating sa Hong Kong si Sotingco noong Setyembre 20, 2013 upang mamasukan bilang kasambahay ngunit naputol ang kanyang dalawang-taong kontrata bago ito matapos at hindi siya umuwi sa Pilipinas bago lumipas ang kanyang dalawang linggong palugit upang manatili at maghanap ng bagong amo.

Pagkaraan ng halos dalawang taong pag-overstay ay nagpasiya si Sotingco na sumuko sa Hong Kong Immigration Department at naghain ng “non refoulement application” para hindi mapauwi nang sapilitan.

Nabanggit ng tagausig na si Sotingco, isang high school graduate, ay may anak na babae na ngayon ay 18 taong gulang na at lumaki sa piling ng kanyang ina. Sinabi ring habang nasa Hong Kong ay nagkaroon ng anak na lalaki ang nasasakdal na ngayon ay 7 taong gulang na.

Ayon naman sa kanyang tagapagtanggol, nagpasiya si Sotingco noong Setyembre 8, 2021 na umuwi na lamang silang mag-ina sa Pilipinas upang makapiling nila ang kanyang panganay na anak at ang kanyang ina.

Sinabi rin ng abogado na sa pananatili ni Sotingco sa Hong Kong ay hindi siya nagtrabaho nang labag sa batas at napanatili niyang malinis ang kanyang record.

Bilang parusa ay pinatawan ng mahistrado si Sotingco ng walong linggo sa kulungan, pero sinuspindi ang pitong araw sa sentensya, kaya 7 linggo na lang ang kanyang ilalagi sa preso.

Habang siya ay nasa piitan, ang kanyang anak ay inilagay sa pangangalaga ng Hong Kong Social Welfare Department. 

   

 

Labour closes 2 employment agencies, issues warning

 

The Labour Department has warned employment agencies to comply with the rules that govern their industry as it closed two of them for various violations.

These are the first two EA closures for the year.

In a statement, LD said these agencies must conduct their business in compliance with the law and the requirements of the Code of Practice for EAs (the Code) at all times.

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The agencies that lost their licenses were Happy Joy Employment Training Center (Happy Joy) and Mission Employment Agency Limited (Mission) located in Tai Wai and Hung Hom, respectively.

“The license of Happy Joy was revoked because it failed to meet the requirement of the Code concerning withholding the passport of a job-seeker, and that its licensee was not a fit and proper person to operate an EA.,” LD said.

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“The licence of Mission was revoked due to its failure to meet the requirements set out in the Code in various aspects, including failing to exercise due diligence in checking the accuracy of the information provided by job-seekers; failing to ensure that the candidates offered to employers are available for filling the vacancy at the time of accepting payment of service fees from employers; and failing to ensure that any information that is made available to employers is consistent with the facts made known to it.,” it added.

The Employment Ordinance (EO) empowers the Commissioner for Labor to revoke the license of an EA for non-compliance with the Code, or the licensee concerned is not a fit and proper person to operate the EA.

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"The Code sets out the salient legal requirements that EA operators must observe in operating their business, as well as the standards which the Commissioner expects from EAs,” it said.

The EO, for example, stipulates that Labour may refuse to issue or renew a license, or revoke a license of agents for violation of the EO, such as overcharging job seekers or operating an EA without a license.

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For inquiries about matters related to EAs or complaints about malpractices, please call the Employment Agencies Administration of the LD at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.

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