Accused illegal recruiter Mabatid fails in cyberlibel bid against The SUN editor

 

Mandap with her lawyers from FLAG, Atty Ed Lao and Judge Meinrado Paredes, 
submitted a hefty counter-affidavit, which led to the 3 cyberlibel cases being junked

The baseless persecution is over. A Cebu City judge has quashed three cyberlibel cases filed by PinoyCare Visa Center, Inc. founder Prisca Nina Mabatid against The SUN editor and lawyer Daisy CL Mandap for lack of probable cause.

The decision by Regional Trial Court Judge Ramon B. Daomilas, Jr. was promulgated on November 11, on the same day the Department of Justice in Manila indicted Mabatid, her partner Russ Mark Gamallo and four others, for large-scale illegal recruitment and multiple counts of estafa. (Find the story here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=Mabatid+large+scale+illegal+recruitment)

Judge Daomilas’s decision ended Mabatid’s attempt to silence The SUN in reporting about numerous complaints filed against her by Filipinos in Hong Kong and in the Philippines, over her group’s allegedly fraudulent offer of work-study visas to Canada.

Judge Daomilas' decision ends Mabatid's libel claims against Mandap

Reacting to the dismissal of the cases, Mabatid committed yet another flagrant disregard for the law when she made the baseless and malicious claim in a public Facebook post on December 4 that The SUN is “notorious for extorting money” and has persistently spread falsehoods against her since 2023.

In truth, The SUN Hong Kong has maintained a spotless record in the 29 years that it has been in circulation.  Mandap has even received two prestigious awards attesting to her exemplary work for the Filipino community in Hong Kong:  a Hong Kong Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service in 2011, and a Distinguished Alumna in Public Service from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in 2014.

In contrast, Mabatid has been publicly censured in two recent cases, one where she was held administratively liable for ordering City Hall staff to sell poultry amid the pandemic, and the second was a Supreme Court judgment allowing the nullity of her marriage on the ground of her repeated infidelity. Links below: 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/amp/story/cebu/seares-ex-councilor-ni%C3%B1a-mabatid-found-guilty

https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/234279.pdf

PINDUTIN DITO

Mabatid also insisted, in defiance of Judge Daomilas’ ruling and a lack of understanding of the country’ judicial process, that Mandap is still facing cyberlibel charges and has three live warrants of arrest issued against her.

In truth, Mabatid’s only cause of action now is to go to the Court of Appeals on certiorari to assail the judge’s decision - on shaky ground.

Mabatid's recruitment in HK on Feb 19, 2023 was well-publicized

Judge Daomila’s decision came just over a month after Cebu City prosecutors, on reinvestigation, recommended on October 10, 2024, the dismissal of the cyberlibel complaints filed by Mabatid against Mandap in July 2023, for lack of probable cause.

The complaints stemmed from three articles published in The SUN about a group of overseas Filipino workers demanding a refund of the Php132,000 they each paid Mabatid and her companies, PCVC/Opportunities Abroad for the student visas promised them that never materialized.

Mabatid's recruitment in HK was captured live on video, and posted on YouTube

The first article dealt with a confrontation between the claimants and Mabatid, witnessed by Hong Kong police officers; the second on Mabatid’s failure to show up as promised at the Philippine Consulate to refund their money; and the third was over calls by Unifil-Migrante to have Mabatid charged for large-scaled illegal recruitment and money laundering.

After the HK complaints, Migrante Intl staged a protest against Mabatid's alleged
 illegal recruitment and fraud across the country which led to DOJ to investigate

Assistant City Prosecutor Cesar C. Gariando who recommended the dismissal of all three charges, noted that “while the complainant is claiming that the subject articles are false, not a single piece of evidence was adduced by her in support thereof.”

Fiscal Gariando added, “On the other hand, respondent Mandap adduced voluminous evidence (annexes 7  to 41) in support of her defense that the news articles are not defamatory against the complainant but deal only with the complaints filed by OFWs working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong that were reported to the government.”

Fiscal Gariando says Mabatid failed to produce a single evidence to support her claim

“With the amount of evidence adduced by respondent Mandap, it cannot be concluded that the subject articles were mere unsubstantiated attacks on the complainant as what the previous investigating prosecutor found in the assailed Joint Resolution. Rather, the subject articles can be considered fair commentaries on matters of public interest, which are likewise privileged as the news articles talk about the plight of concerned OFWs being scammed while abroad,” continued the prosecutor.

Basahin ang detalye!

Judge Daomilas ordered a reinvestigation and quashed the warrants of arrest on July 16, 2024 at the request of Mandap, a permanent resident of Hong Kong who said she never received a copy of the complaints which were purportedly sent to her address in Quezon City. 

She became aware of the case only when she went to the Philippines for a visit in March 2024, and received a letter from the Cebu City prosecutors informing her of a resolution dated October 24, 2023 indicting her for three counts of cyberlibel, had been promulgated.

Mandap (with her back turned) is shown talking to Mabatid in HK on June 18, 2023
after complainants called the police for help in demanding a refund 

On March 6, 2024, Mandap file a motion for reinvestigation and another for a stay of proceedings on the ground of lack of due process. These were then followed up in court by her lawyers from Free Legal Assistance Group, Atty Edmund Lao and Judge Meinrado Paredes.

In her counter-affidavit, Mandap refuted all of Mabatid’s claims, including the allegation that the articles were politically motivated. She said she never met Mabatid until June 18, 2023, when was asked by the Hong Kong complaints to witness their attempt to ask for a refund of the money they paid for the study-work visa that did not materialize  

Mandap showed proof that several other media publications in Hong Kong had written about the same complaints made by some 50 Filipino migrant workers against Mabatid, which were cited in The SUN articles. (Sample of a news article from Dimsum Daily in HK i here: https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/at-least-50-filipino-domestic-helpers-in-hong-kong-allegedly-scammed-by-pinoycare-visa-centre-in-the-philippines/)

Screen shot of the Dimsum Daily article

In addition, she attached a copy of Senate Resolution No.905 authored by Senator Raffy Tulfo, directing the appropriate Senate Committee to Conduct an Inquiry in Aid of Legislation on the Alleged Illegal Practices of PinoyCare Visa Center and Other Recruitment Agencies Exploiting the Student Visa-To Work Permit Pathway. (See the full text here: https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/4329239383!.pdf )

A copy of the Subpoena Ad Testificandum issued to Prisca Nina Mabatid, Founder of PinoyCare Visa Center, Inc. to respond to the allegations at a hearing on February 13, 2024 by the Senate Committeeon Migrant Workers, was also attached to Mandap's pleadings.

Subpoena issued to Mabatid to appear at Senate Committee hearing

Mandap also presented video recordings, sworn statements by the OFW-complainants and their case officer at the Mission for Migrant Workers, a letter from the Hong Kong Police and a certificate from the Consulate, to belie Mabatid’s claim that she never undertook any recruitment seminar in Hong Kong.

HK complainants come face to face with Mabatid outside the orientation venue in June 2023

In her complaint, Mabatid claimed she was in Hong Kong to celebrate Father's Day with her family, and just happened to be at the venue where PCVC-Opportunities Abroad was holding an orientation seminar on June 18, 2023 because she was supposed to meet a friend there. She said she merely helped the police with their inquiries, which lasted about three hours, being a good citizen.

Mabatid claims she is not connected with PCVC and was in HK only to celebrate Father's Day

But this was countered by Mandap by attaching to her counter-affidavit voluminous documents belying Mabatid's claim. 

Among the documents she submitted were Securities and Exchange Commission certificates issued to PinoyCare Visa Center, Inc. and Opportunities Abroad Visa Processing Services, Inc. which clearly showed Mabatid’s connections to both.

PCVC registration shows Mabatid is the majority stockholder in the company

The PCVC certificate issued on May 24, 2011 shows her as its founder, major stockholder and chief executive officer. The one issued to OAVPS on March 13, 2023 (which was nearly a month after Mabatid and her group collected money from the OFW complainants in HK)  shows the CEO as her former partner, Clark Jueco, and her relatives including her mother, as incorporators.

Curiously, in the DOJ Resolution indicting Mabatid and five of her associates, Gamallo was cited as claiming to be its CEO and President, and not their co-accused, Jueco. Gamallo and their three other co-accused , Adam Hechanova, Clint Victor Caingles and Noverna “Bernie”  Uy, also claimed to be the incorporators of OAVPS and not Mabatid’s mother and three other relatives.

OAVPSI certificate showing the real incorporators were mostly Mabatid's close relatives

Aside from dismissing the complaints against her, Mandap asked the City Prosecutor to immediately initiate an investigation into the “perjurious statements” made my Mabatid in her three sworn statements to support her complaints for cyberlibel.

Apparently alarmed by the order to reinvestigate the case, Gamallo, acting for OAVPS, made a last-ditch bid to file another complaint for cyberlibel against Mandap. 

Basahin ang detalye!

However, the complaint was summarily dismissed by Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Rodulph Joseph Val J. Carrillo on October 9, 2024, who ruled that there was no probable cause to file the case in court. SACP Carrillo said the article Gamallo had complained of was “mainly a narration of facts and what remarks are made are based on the narration.”

Deputy City Prosecutor Maria Luisa G. Ratilla approved the recommendation dismissing the complaint on October 24.

Opportunities Abroad flyer showing its offer of study & work visa in Canada in 3 months

In recommending for dismissal of the main cases filed by Mabatid, Fiscal Gariando said: “it is a defense to an action for libel that the words complained of are a fair comment on a matter of public interest. The reason for this is that the freedom of speech is not only one of the constitutional rights of a person but it is also absolutely essential to the democratic rules under the aegis of which our libel law was evolved… Hence, the jealous vigilance with which the free play of open criticism upon all matters of public interest is safeguarded.”

The Department of Migrant Workers has issued warnings against PCVC

The fiscal recommended not just the dismissal of the complaints against Mandap, but also of the three informations filed with the court dated Oct 24, 2023, indicting her for cyberlibel.

His recommendation was submitted for approval by SACP Carrillo and affirmed by DCP Ratilla. In less than a month, Judge Daomilas concurred in their findings and ordered all the cases dismissed.

3 Fil-Chinese held for alleged theft of pens denied bail

 

North Point street where theft allegedly happened (Google Maps photo)

Three visiting Filipino Chinese accused of shoplifting pens and a toy in two separate theft charges, were remanded in jail custody today after their offer of $30,000 cash bail each was rejected at Eastern Court.

G. Ong, 66 years old, P. Sy, 74, and P. Su, 47, will be detained while they await their next hearing on Dec. 10.

PINDUTIN DITO

The three were charged with stealing 34 pens worth $2,012 from the Yu Shu Fong stationery store on Electric Road in North Point last Nov. 30, according to a police complaint filed today.

Ong was also charged with the theft of a toy train worth $68 from the same store on the same date.

Their lawyer sought their release on bail, saying they were established business people in the Philippines, with the elder Sy even owning a flat in Hong Kong. 

But Principal Magistrate Don So rejected the bail offer after the lawyer said the three were allowed by the Immigration Department to stay in Hong Kong until next week.

 

DH jailed for almost 10 months for money laundering

 

A Filipina domestic helper whose bank ATM card was used by another DH for money laundering, for which the latter was jailed earlier for eight months, was herself jailed for nine months and 27 days by the District Court.

Richel Gania, 47 years old, pleaded guilty on Thursday (Dec. 5) to dealing with $189,110.04 of crime money by allowing her Hang Seng Bank account to be used as its depository between April 1, 2018 and Nov. 1, 2020.

PINDUTIN DITO

She was convicted of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offense, conrary to section 35(1) and (3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.”

Deputy District Judge David Cheung handed the sentence on Gania, whose case was resolved separately from those of her two co-accused – Wong Chi-tang, 37, who was accused of laundering $3,667.329.50 through his Bank of China account; and Rachel Galvadores, 47, whose Hang Seng Bank account was linked to the laundering of $577,302.00.

Basahin ang detalye!

Gania’s ATM card was the main evidence in the case against Michelle Valenzuela, aged 45, who was sentenced last Nov. 21 at Eastern Court to eight months in jail.

She admitted to Principal Magistrate Don So that she used Gania’s ATM card in depositing and withdrawing money from the bank account.

She also answered yes when Magistrate So asked if somebody gave her the ATM card of the account.

Netizens help find missing mom

 

Jolly-looking photo of the missing mom that immediately went viral

All’s well that ends well for a visiting Filipino family in Hong Kong. Their elderly member, Zenaida Venturina, was found with help from alert netizens, a few hours after a frantic message from her daughter on Wednesday morning said she was missing.

The message, posted at about 9am that day said, the 74-year-old Mrs Venturina went missing at around 9:30pm the previous night when the family was about to leave Disneyland.

Her daughter, Amelia Ann Marie, said Mrs Venturina entered a souvenir shop on their way out, and disappeared. She had her passport and Octopus card with her, but did not need any medication.

Her message immediately was reposted in several other Facebook pages by several concerned Filipinos.

A family friend, Ferdinand, also contacted The SUN at about the same time to ask for help in reaching out to other Filipinos in Hong Kong so Mrs Venturina could be located.

But within minutes after the post came out in the Facebook group page, “Hong Kong and Macau Travel Updates Promo,” a netizen shared a post in another group from one Amira Alaya saying she saw a woman that looked like the missing mom.

“I saw an old lady in Hang Hau MTR (she has short hair and looks like this one but I’m not sure if it’s the same person as I saw the post after I took the MTR). She was sitting in a chair in the paid area and there was an MTR staff next to her. Hope you can find her soon,” her post read.

Family members and friends immediately sped to Hang Hau MTR station and were gratified to see that it was indeed, Mrs Venturina, who was there.

Missing mom looking worried when pictured in Hang Hau

Anne Marie later confirmed being reunited with her mother.

“Thank you to all who shared in other groups, those who prayed for mom’s safety and those who saw her, Ms Amira Alaya, thank you very much. We will remember everything you said so that next time this will not happen (again). God bless everyone,” she said in a post.

She did not give details as to where her mother had spent the night, or whether she got fed and other information.

Many members of the chat page, who had earlier expressed concern about whether the missing mom was hungry, cold, or afraid, were quick to extend messages of relief and joy.

Other well-meaning netizens said the elderly mother should probably be equipped with an air tag, a small Bluetooth-enabled device that is usually used in locating lost items like keys up to a distance of about 30 meters outdoors, next time they left the house.

At least one said this was her worry as well as her family was also set to go to Disneyland. She said she had been thinking of putting a tag giving her contact details, inside the clothes of her special-needs child and her senior mom, aside from establishing landmarks where they could go in case they get lost.

Another put a happy spin to the story, saying “Nakakatuwa na nakita na si Mader J May pa happy ending ever after. Oh, enjoy your travel na, wag na magsisihan, and of course (remember) na maging mapagmatyag sa kasama.”

(It’s a relief that Mother has been found. There is a happy ending ever after all. Go enjoy your travel now, no recriminations, and of course remember to always look out after your companions).

Couple owns up to 5 shopliftings; sentencing put off

 

The store where shoplifters operated (Google Maps photo)

A Filipino couple who shoplifted a particular brand of chocolates popular among OFWs who send home door-to-door boxes, pleaded guilty today at Eastern Court to five counts of theft, but their sentences were put off for five days for further inquiries.

Principal Magistrate Don So withheld the sentences until Dec. 10 pending a report done on HK resident Zachary Eagle, 28 years old, by the Drug Addiction Treatment Center and a background report on Loida Figueroa, 49, who uses a recognizance form as identification document.

He also ordered that the two, who are unemployed and have no fixed abode, be held in jail custody until then.

Basahin ang detalye!

A charge for possession of a dangerous drug, for which Eagle was scheduled to be sentenced based on today’s court list, was not mentioned in today’s hearing.

The first theft charge accused Figueroa of stealing three boxes, each containing 36 pieces of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, from the Wellcome supermarket at the basement of Metropole Bldg., on King’s Road, North Point, last Nov. 8. She was with a female, Virginia Nasayao, who was not charged.

The second theft charge involved Eagle and Figueroa stealing five boxes of the same brand of chocolates – three containing 36 pieces and and two containing 24 -- from the same store on Nov. 10.

On the same day, the two returned to the store and stole four boxes of of the same chocolates (36 pieces).

Eagle returned to the same store on Nov. 25, and stole another four 36-piece boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

The fifth charge involved Figueroa stealing two boxes of Ferrero Rocher (36 pieces) chocolates.

The prosecutor said Eagle has three previous similar criminal convictions while Figueroa has nine.

 

DH to dispute theft charge in trial

 

Estate where theft was allegedly committed (Google Maps photo)

It will be between a Filipina domestic helper’s word against her employer’s when a case accusing her of stealing $6,000 is tried next month at a Kwun Tong Court.

Jucy Marquez, 43 years old, tearfully pleaded not guilty today to the charge of theft, or violation of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance, prompting Acting Principal Magistrate Leung Ka-kie to schedule her trial for Jan. 15.

A police complaint filed last Oct. 23 accuses Marquez of stealing $6,000 in cash from her employer, Wong Chi-hang, at his flat in Pak Shek Terrace in Clear Water Bay, Sai Kung, between the 1^st and 20^th of October this year.

Basahin ang detalye!

It was alleged that the money was later found in her purse, but she denied putting it there and asked for fingerprints to be taken to see if she touched the bills.

The prosecution said they will present one witness, while the defense plans to present none and rely instead on disputing the circumstances that led to the charge being filed against her.

Among issues expected to be raised by the defense will be that the house had multiple occupants, including the girlfriend of one family member, and that she had complained to her employer that she lost one mobile phone and $1,000 from her wallet, before the theft charges were filed against her.

Because Marquez had no bail application, Magistrate Leung remanded her in jail custody, with the advice that she has the right to go to the High Court to apply for bail. In two earlier hearings, her offers of $1,000 and $2,000 cash bail were rejected.

9th support centre for ethnic minorities opens in Kowloon City

 

A lion dance greeted guests at the DREAM Centre's opening

The first of two new support service centres for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong opened in Kowloon City yesterday, Dec. 3.

Officiating at the opening of the DREAM Centre on the fifth floor of Kowloon City Plaza was Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Alice Mak.

In his speech, Chan said the government has always attached great importance to providing support for ethnic minorities to help them integrate into the local community.

Basahin ang detalye!

He mentioned that the Chief Executive had announced in his 2023 Policy Address that two new support centres for EMs will be set up, on top of the eight already existing. DREAM Centre is one of those, while the tenth will open in Shatin soon.

In this year’s Policy Address the Chief Executive said that in addition, a new support centre that will augment the translation and interpretation services provided by CHEER Centre will be set up by next year.

Chan expressed hope that the new initiatives will further promote the EMs’ integration into the community.

Chan says the centres are tasked with helping ethnic minorities integrate into HK society

DREAM Centre, which is operated by International Social Service Hong Kong, provides a number of support service for EMs, including language classes, special interest classes, after-school tutorial classes, youth activities, as well as counselling and referral services.

The Centre will also provide help in accessing public services, including provision of workstations for accessing the Internet and distribution of multilingual guides to services provided by the Government and non-profit-making organisations.

An EM Care Team set up by the DREAM Centre has also started providing service.

The existing eight support service centres for ethnic minorities are located in Wan Chai, Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Tung Chung and Kwai Tsing.

DREAM offers tutorial, counselling and special interest classes, among others

DREAM Centre is open everyday except during public holidays. Its operating hours are from 9am to 6:30pm on Mondays and 9am to 9pm from Tuesdays to Sundays.

For more information about its services, call the Centre’s hotline at 3104 4044.

   

Trial begins for Filipino tourist charged with trafficking $3.5M worth of cocaine

 

9 packets of cocaine were found inside the 2 bags that Leybag carried

A Filipino tourist who flew into Hong Kong from Dubai with nearly 4 kilos of cocaine in his bags more than two years ago, was put on trial for drug trafficking starting today at the Court of First Instance.

Antonio S. Leybag, Jr., 66,  does not deny that his briefcase and carry-on bag yielded 3.95 kilos of a substance that was nearly pure cocaine, when he was stopped on arrival at Hong Kong International Airport at the height of the Covid pandemic in May, 2022.

However, he pleaded not guilty to the charge of drug trafficking, saying he was unaware of what the bags contained.

Basahin ang detalye!

Prosecution, however, is insisting Leybag knew exactly what was inside his bags, and in fact, had admitted to the arresting officer that he was paid US$1,000 by a man in Brazil to transport the cocaine.

He was also said to have “voluntarily” signed a cautioned statement admitting the offence.

According to the prosecution, the street value of the drugs found in Leybag’s possession was $3.588 million.

High Court Judge Amanda Woodcock is presiding over the trial where a jury composed of six men and one woman will decide on the verdict.

Under Hong Kong laws, drug trafficking is a capital offense for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment and a $5 million fine.

According to the prosecution, Leybag, who was assisted in court by an Ilocano interpreter, arrived on board a Qatar Airways flight from Doha at about 5pm on May 23, 2022.

He had flown out originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and passed Doha on the way to Hong Kong.

Leybag, who was wearing dark-colored hoodie and a windbreaker, passed through the “green lane,” which is reserved for travelers who do not have dutiable goods to declare to customs.

A customs officer conducting random spot checks on arriving passengers stopped him and asked if he did not have anything to declare and he said “no.”

One of the three customs officers who testified on the first day of the trial said that Leybag’s bags were then put through a secondary inspection.

After their apparent contents had all been taken out, he said the bags still felt heavier than normal, so he put them through an x-ray machine, and saw that they contained other things that were not readily apparent.

The officer said he also noticed that the cloth flaps inside the suitcase had glue marks around them. After a hole was drilled into the suitcase, some “white matter” spilled out, so Leybag was held on suspicion of drug trafficking.

At the direction of Judge Woodcock, the officer showed the court where he found the glue marks inside the suitcase, and the hole that was punched to check if there was something hidden underneath the exposed compartment.

Further checks showed that Leybag’s briefcase and suitcase contained a substance weighing a total of 3,951 grams, of which 3,410 grams was pure cocaine.

However, a fingerprint analysis conducted on Aug16, 2022 yielded fingerprints that did not belong to anyone, said the prosecution.

Leybag was cautioned that he had the right to remain silent, and anything he said during the investigation would be put in writing and used against him. 

But according to the officer, the defendant chose to give a statement, assisted by an Ilocano interpreter, during which he said he was given a US$1,000 reward for transporting the drugs from Brazil.

The trial continues, and is expected to last until Monday, Dec. 9.

 

Filipina in theft-robbery case to be heard next year

 

Quarry Bay street where theft from a car happened (Google Maps photo) 

A theft case that dates back to 2022 involving a Filipina and two fellow asylum seekers, has been consolidated with a newer case where both her co-accused are facing a robbery charge, and scheduled for trial at the District Court in September next year.

Cheryl de Vera, 40 years old, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing, together with Sidhu Brar Gurmuk Singh, 30 years old, an Octopus card and $600 cash from a car parked in front of Showboat Mansion in Quarry Bay on Aug. 28, 2022.Another man, Gursewak Singh, 30 years old, was added in the consolidated case.

The robbery charge, on the other hand, names both men as having stripped 74-year-old Tsui Tai-on of a waist bag with a HKID, senior ID, a house key, Octopus card, mobile phone and $16,000 in cash in the early hours of the same day in Kowloon City.

Basahin ang detalye!

District Judge W.K. Kwok scheduled a pre-trial review for May 8 next year, and a seven-day trial starting on Sept. 8.

He ordered de Vera and Sidhu freed on bail of $2,000 and remanded Gursewak in jail custody.

Newspaper reports at the time said two men approached the elderly cardboard collector as she sat at about 3am on a flight of stairs outside Kowloon City Plaza at the junction of Lion Rock Road and Carpenter Road in Kowloon City, and was sorting used carton boxes she had collected.

One of them reportedly sat next to the victim and talked to her before stealing her waist bag while the other approached from behind and covered her mouth to prevent her from shouting.

Reports later said one suspect was arrested in connection with the case on Sept. 2.

A theft charge was filed against de Vera and Sidhu while Gursewak was still at large. After Gursewak was arrested, a separate case of robbery was filed against him and Sidhu.

This is not the first time that a trial was scheduled when this was originally a theft case. 

Last Jan. 30, District Judge CP Pang set a five-day trial from Jan. 13 next year, with a pre-trial review scheduled for Dec. 5, 2024. These court dates have since been cancelled.

Filipina, Dominican charged for fighting in public

 

Wanchai corner where fight occurred (Google Maps photo) 

A Filipina charged with fighting in public, pleaded not guilty today at Eastern Court while her alleged opponent did not show up, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued against her.

M. Caballero, 30 years old, denied fighting in public with L. Manana, also aged 30 and a Dominican Republic national, on the corner of Lockhart and Luard roads in Wanchai last Oct. 6.

Both were charged with violating section 25 of the Public Order Ordinance, which prescribes a maximum fine at level 2 ($5,000) and imprisonment for 12 months..

Basahin ang detalye!

Both were listed as unemployed.

With Caballero’s denial, Principal Magistrate Don So scheduled a pre-trial for Feb. 17 next year and released her on $500 bail. When signing the yellow document informing her of the new court date, she showed her Philippine passport as identification.

Because she was absent, Manana was ordered arrested and her police bail reserved. Magistrate So also set a new bail of $10,000 for her temporary liberty while the case is ongoing.