HK OFWs in illegal recruitment case appeal to DMW for financial aid

 

Illegal recruitment victims with faces blurred, wait for the Php50k cash aid (DMW photo)

Some 20 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong who have filed complaints of illegal recruitment and fraud against former Cebu City Councillor Prisca Nina Mabatid have urged Secretary Hans Cacdac to grant them financial aid from the Department of Migrant Workers’ AKSYON Fund.

The call was made after the DMW issued a statement on Tuesday saying that 201 victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking were granted a total sum of Php10,050,000 from the Fund specifically set up for this purpose.

At least one of the Hong Kong complainants and two other alleged victims working abroad have said their applications were denied because their complaints had not been taken up by the Department of Justice.

 Yesterday, the DMW also announced that the Senate had approved the Php8.79 billion budget of the DMW and its attached agency, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, for 2025.

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The DMW assured the Senate “of more efficient and more responsive programs and services to OFWs and their families to help them maximize the gains of their employment and empower them as co-architects of national development.”

Told about the appeal, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said he would look into why the Hong Kong complainants and others who were recruited abroad were denied the Php50,000 financial assistance extended to victims of illegal recruitment and humana trafficking. 

Consul General Germinia Aguilar-Usudan also offered to forward the appeal by the HK complainants to the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs, for endorsement to the DMW.

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Edwina Antonio, case worker at the Mission for Migrant Workers who has been helping the complainants pursue their case with the Hong Kong authorities and the DMW since June 2023, said the Php50,000 cash assistance would be a big help to them.

“Malaking tulong ito, lalo at malapit nang mag Pasko at hindi pa sila nakakabangon sa inutang nilang pera para ipambayad sa pinangako sa kanilang trabaho at student visa sa Canada,” said Antonio.

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(This would be a big help, especially since it’s almost Christmas and they have yet to recover from the loans they took out to pay for the work and student visa in Canada promised them).

"Ang tagal na nilang nagdurusa at umaasa, nawa ay pakinggan man lang ang mga hinaing nila.”  (They have suffered long enough, but are still hoping for justice; hopefully the DMW would finally listen to their grievance).

Antonio added she didn’t understand why some of the complainants against Mabatid were granted the Php50,000 financial assistance, while others, including those who are in Hong Kong, weren’t.

This was after she was told by one of the Hong Kong complainants that her application for the Php50,000 cash aid was denied by DMW officials who told her she needed to have a case number issued by the Department of Justice to qualify for the grant.

Mabatid's accusers, along with Antonio, filed a complaint with Consulate officials

The same reason was given to two other OFWs whose cases had been filed with the Laguna prosecutors by the DMW itself.

In contrast, about 15 people who filed nearly identical complaints against Mabatid and whose cases were taken up by the National Bureau of Investigation and referred to the DOJ for the possible filing of charges, were awarded the financial aid.

In an order published in August this year, the DMW increased the amount of its financial assistance to OFWs in distress under its Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFWs na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund.

From the previous Php30,000 the financial grant was raised to Php50,000 to OFWs who suffer abuse at their workplace, or were victims of illegal recruitment or human trafficking.

The grant goes up to Php75,000 for those who suffer mental distress, and Php100,000 if the OFW dies at the worksite, or within a year of returning from an overseas job.

The complainants confront Mabatid in a HK street in June 2023

The HK OFWs named Mabatid, her partner lawyer Russ Mark Gamallo and Hong Kong-based OFW blogger Bryan A. Calagui in complaints they filed with the HK Police and the DMW.

They backed up their complaints with receipts showing they paid no less than $18,700 to Mabatid and her company, PCVC-Opportunities Abroad in February 2023, after the Cebu politician promised to help secure visas for them in Canada, which she said would allow them to work and study at the same time.

The promised visas did not materialize, and Mabatid has since been summoned to the Senate Commmittee on Migrant Workers headed by Senator Raffy Tulfo, to explain her alleged illegal recruitment activities.

The DMW has also looked into the complaints against Mabatid, and has endorsed a number of the cases to the National Bureau of Investigation and the DOJ for the possible filing of charges.

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Pinay DH cleared of illegal work, another jailed for overstaying

The cases were heard at Shatin Court

A domestic helper charged with breach of condition of stay for alleged illegal work in a store, got off scot-free yesterday at Shatin court after prosecutors offered no evidence against her.

Instead, S. Pates, 42, was given a chance by Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong to accept a bind-over agreement in return for the charge being withdrawn, and paying $500 for court costs, to be taken from her bail.

The bind-over involves a promise not to reoffend for 18 months, or else she would be made to pay a fine of $2,000 in addition to the penalty for the new offense.

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Pates was charged by the Immigration Department with violating Section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance which prescribes a maximum fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for 2 years.

The charge arose after Pates was arrested for doing odd jobs at Yoyo Clothing Store in Tin Shui Wai On Feb 12, 2023.

The condition of her stay in Hong Kong, as granted by Immigration, requires her to work solely for the employer who signed the contract that she used to obtain a DH visa, the charge said.

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Meanwhile, another Filipina was sentenced to nine weeks’ imprsonment after she pleaded guilty to breach of condition of stay by overstaying for almost three years.

Danitas Tactay, 41 years old, was only allowed to stay until the expiration of her DH employment visa on Nov. 7, 2013, but she remained illegally in Hong Kong until she was arrested on June 17, 2016.

She then claimed non-refoulement to prevent her being sent back to the Philippines. With her asylum application having been denied, this case for overstaying was finally resolved by the Shatin Court.

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Observatory lowers warning to T3

 

Storm Toraji's path (HKO photo)

The Hong Hong Observatory lowered Typhoon Signal No. 8 to Strong Wind Signal, No. 3 at 10:30 am today, releasing the territory from a virtual lockdown that saw bus routes suspended, streets deserted and most government offices closed in the morning, 

In an announcement, the Observatory said winds with mean speeds of 41 to 62 kilometees per hour are expected as Tropical Storm Toraji continued moving westward toward Vietnam, after coming to about about 130 kilometres south of Hong Kong.

“Toraji continues to weaken,” the Observatory said. “Local winds are expected to moderate gradually but local winds remain generally strong at first with occasional gale force winds at offshore areas and on high ground.”

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“The Strong Wind Signal, No. 3 will remain in force for most of the time during the day today. When the threat posed to Hong Kong by Toraji is further reduced, the Observatory will issue the Standby Signal, No. 1 or cancel all tropical cyclone warning signals,” it added.

With the reduced threat, government offices had begun reopening by mid-morning and operations will return to normal in the afternoon.

The Immigration Department said services at the Immigration Headquarters and all Branch Offices, Registration of Persons Offices, and Births, Deaths and Marriage Registries will resume at 12:30pm.

The Judiciary announced that all the courts and tribunals that will reopen at 12:20pm. and hearings that were scheduled in the morning will be held at 2:30pm.

Meanwhile, the Observatory issued the usual precautions, such as watching out for hidden danger to personal safety.

“Strong winds are still blowing. You should not relax taking precautions. Beware of falling objects in winds. Do not touch electric cables that have been blown loose,” it added.

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“Drivers using highways and flyovers should be alert to violent gusts,”the Observatory said. 

“You are advised to stay away from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports,” it added.

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T8 to be raised tonight

 

Toraji is forecast to come closest to HK in the early hours of Thursday

The Observatory said it will issue the standby Storm Signal No 8 at 11:10pm tonight, and it will remain hoisted until at least 10 am tomorrow, Thursday (Nov 14) with the approach of Tropical Storm Toraji.

That means, classes at all morning and day schools, from kindergarten to secondary level, will be suspended for the day.

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Toraji is one of four storms to emerge at the same time in November in the western North Pacific and South China Sea for the first time in history.

At 9 pm, Toraji was estimated to be about 180 kilometers south-southeast of Hong Kong and is forecast to move west or west-northwest at about 10 kilometers per hour as it edges closer to the coast of Guangdong.

The Observatory said Toraji adopted a more northerly track in the past few hours, and is now forecast to be closest to the Pearl River Estuary tomorrow morning, skirting around 150 kilometers south of Hong Kong.

Associated gale winds and squally thunderstorms are expected  to affect Hong Kong overnight and early tomorrow.

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Toraji made landfall in the northern Philippine province of Cagayan yesterday, the fifth major storm in three weeks to devastate the country.

It blew out to sea early this morning after causing some widespread flooding but relatively limited damage, and no reported deaths.

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HK to offer new Covid-19 vaccine starting Nov 19

Two brands of the JN.1 Covid-19 vaccine will be made available to HK residents

The Centre for Health Protection announced today, Tuesday, that the first shipment of 110,000 doses of the Comirnaty JN.1 Covid-19 vaccine has arrived in Hong Kong and will be administered to eligible persons aged 12 years and above from November 19.

The JN.1 vaccine which is manufactured by BioNTech, replaces the existing XBB Covid-19 vaccine, and is among 2024-2025 vaccines recommended worldwide to closely target the JN.1 lineage of the Omicron variant.

Later, around 110,000 doses of Spikevax JN.1 vaccine by Moderna will arrive in Hong Kong in batches, in due course. The government said it will procure COVID-19 vaccines in a timely manner depending on future demand.

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In its statement, the government said that the use of the JN.1 vaccine is in line with recommendations by the World Health Organization and CHP’s Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases.

The vaccine will be made available to eligible persons aged 12 years and above under the Hong Kong government’s Covid-19 vaccination program. 

Booster doses are also available for free to the following high-risk priority groups, at least six months after the last dose or COVID-19 infection (whichever is later), regardless of the number of doses received previously:

·       older adults aged 50 or above, including those living in residential care homes;

·       persons aged 18 to 49 years with underlying comorbidities;

·       persons with immunocompromising conditions aged 6 months and above;

·       pregnant women; and

·       healthcare workers. 

In addition to these groups, the US Centers for Disease Control says getting the 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccine is equally important to those who never received a Covid-19 vaccine, are at high risk for severe Covid-19, are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or might become pregnant in future, and want to lower their risk of getting long Covid-19

Those aged 12 years or older may continue to book a Covid-19 vaccine appointment via the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme booking system:  booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/forms/index.jsp).

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If they make the appointment on or after November 19 they will receive either brand of JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine for initial dose(s) or additional booster, subject to vaccine availability.

Young kids aged 6 months up to 11 years old will continue to receive the XBB  vaccine at at Hong Kong Children's Hospital, designated Maternal and Child Health Centres or Student Health Service Centres under the DH and designated PCVS.

Eligible citizens may choose to receive vaccine from private clinics registered as COVID-19 Community Vaccination Stations (PCVSs), designated general outpatient clinics (GOPCs) under the Hospital Authority (HA), or designated Elderly Health Centres of the DH.

Details of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme can be found on the CHP's website (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/106934.html).

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9 months for theft of jewelry worth $45K

 

Kowloon City Court 

A domestic helper was jailed for nine months today after she pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Court to two counts of theft.

Gracelyn Simbre, 41, was actually meted nine months’ jail for each offence -- a violation of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance -- but Deputy Magistrate Arthur Hong ordered that the two sentences run at the same time.

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The first charge against Simere arose from the theft of one gold necklace worth $22,749 from her employer at One Homantin in Hung Hom, Kowloon, last March 23.

The second charge arose from the theft of a pair of gold earrings and two gold bracelets worth a total of $23,000 from the same place last April 28.

Meanwhile, at the Shatin Court, a rape case against Alden John Apayat was transferred to Eastern Magistracy for committal proceedings to the High Court.

Apayat was told to appear on Dec. 19 at the new venue as he was released on bail of $50,000 with conditions, plus $15,000 surety.

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He is accused of raping “X” last April 10 in a house on Mui Wo Rural Committee Road in Mui Wo, Lantau.

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7 years’ jail for Swede who raped Nepalese domestic helper

The sentence was handed down at the High Court

A Swedish businessman diagnosed with a bipolar disorder was sentenced to seven years in jail at the High Court yesterday, after being found guilty of raping his Nepalese domestic helper.

Patrik Tobias Ekstrom, 36 was earlier taken into custody after being convicted unanimously by a seven-member jury of a count of rape and another of buggery without consent, against his helper, identified in court only as “X” on Oct. 27, 2022.

Recorder Derek Chan noted before sentencing various reports indicating Ekstrom was deemed unstable in mid-2022, after undergoing severe stress, including his deteriorating relationship with his wife.

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“Having sex with (the victim) was a way to cope with his negative feeling,” Chan said, citing the reports.

Under Hong Kong law, the maximum penalty for rape or non-consensual buggery is life imprisonment.

In mitigation his lawyer, Simon So, said the defendant suffered from bipolar disorder at the time of the offence, which happened on the day Ekstrom learned that his wife had left him, and had taken their three children with her to Japan.

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But in sentencing, Chan said the defendant had grossly breached the trust of the victim, a first-time migrant worker who was in a vulnerable position as she was dependent on him for her job.

The court also noted that the helper had suffered post-traumatic stress, including having frequent flashbacks of the assault, having nightmares and suffering from mood swings.

Ekstrom returned to his Shek O home late that night drunk, and forced the helper to his bedroom while saying, “I love you, I want you”. He threatened to kill her if she did not give in to his demand for sex.

The victim said her employer pressed her down onto the bed before sexually assaulting her, and only stopped when he cried out in pain.

Early the next morning,  X left the house and went straight to the police station to file a report. Ekstrom was arrested that night.

Earlier on the same day, the defendant transferred $15,000 to the victim’s bank account.

In his defense, Ekstrom that it was the helper who initiated sex with him as she wanted to give him “comfort’’ after being abandoned by his family.

He also claimed they had consensual sex previously, when he gave her money each time, and after which the helper had asked for help in repaying another debt. 

So said that up until the offence, the defendant had been a “successful businessman”, and incurred only a drink-driving conviction about 10 years before the rape.

But after the rape, Ekstrom was found guilty of criminally damaging property in a hospital and in a police vehicle, with both incidents occurring after he was found walking naked in public.

The defendant had also gotten involved in a car crash, and had and made a false report of burglary to police.

The court was told yesterday that Ekstrom graduated from City University and ran a successful business selling and distributing electronic products in Hong Kong.

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12 months for DH who lent ATM card on promise of $1k reward

 

District Court

A Filipina was jailed for 12 months today, a day after she pleaded guilty at the District Court to letting her bank account be used for money laundering.

Judge Lily Wong declined to give domestic helper Rachel Galvadores, 48 years old, any more discount on her original sentence of 18 months than the one-third cut granted to those who plead guilty.

Galvadores was convicted of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offense”, in violation of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, after $444,700 was deposited and withdrawn from her Hang Seng Bank account between January 2020 and Nov. 18, 2020.

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One of the sources of the money was a woman, identified only as Prosecution Witness 1, who testified that she was a victim of a love scam that tricked her into transferring $10,000 to Galvadores’ Hang Seng account.

In mitigation, the defense lawyer cited several facts that sought to paint Galvadores in favorable light, such as contributing to Hong Kong society by working for one employer for 18 years, and being the sole breadwinner for her two children and mother in the Philippines.

The lawyer also described her as remorseful, having learned her lesson, and that she had no idea that her ATM card would be used in scams.\

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Judge Wong shrugged these off, saying, “She does not deserve it.”

She noted that Galvadores lent her ATM card to a woman only identified as Victoria, after being promised $1,000 in reward, although she never got paid.

She also cited High Court decisions that consider money laundering a serious crime, which undermines the integrity of the banking system.

The charge against Galvadores was the first to be resolved in the case in which two other persons were charged with dealing with crime money.

Fellow Filipina Richel Gania is accused of letting her Hang Seng bank account be used for laundering $189,110.04  between April 1, 2018 and Nov. 1, 2020.

Wong Chi-tang is accused of dealing with $3.7 million in crime money that flowed in and out of his Bank of China account between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2021.

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Drug rehab for Pinoy who admitted assaulting local man

 

The Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, where the accused will likely be confined  

A Filipino who was convicted recently of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a local man, has been sent to the Drug Addition Treatment Center (DATC) indefinitely after he was confirmed to be addicted to dangerous drugs.

A drug treatment officer’s report “rightly pointed out that you are a drug addict,” Magistrate Gary Chu told M. Tibio, a 33-year-old waiter, when he appeared for sentencing today at West Kowloon Court,

“In view of your weak will power to get rid of the habit, the officer recommended that you be confined to the DATC,” he added.

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No definite period was specified for his rehab, but Magistrate Gary Chu told him, “It depends on your progress.”  

The treatment will normally take six to eight months plus another one year of supervision “to make sure you don’t touch drugs again,” he added.

While the sentence would keep him out of jail, it would also leave him with a criminal record.

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Asked by Magistrate Chu if he had any objection to his sentence, Tibio said no.

Tibio pleaded guilty last Oct. 28 to the charge of violating Common Law and the Offenses Against the Person Ordinance when he assaulted a local man last June 23 in front of a bar on South Lantau Road in Pui O, Lantau.

Tibio was scheduled to be sentenced to do community service as a penalty but was instead detained after his urine test showed traces of marijuana.

This prompted Chu to order a report from the DATC. “CSO (community service order) is not recommended due to continued drug abuse,” Magistrate Chu said then, noting the risks faced by his family and people who will be working with him.

Tibio was also convicted of drug possession in 2020 and was fined $2,000.

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