by The SUN
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| Magsino being taken to court for an earlier hearing (File) |
“A momentary lapse in judgment” more than four years
ago today led to a Filipina domestic worker being jailed for 27 months, at the end
of her trial at the District Court in Tsuen Wan for dangerous driving causing
death and multiple injuries.
Reshielle L. Magsino, 48, was meted the sentence by Deputy
District Judge Timothy Casewell, who called the incident that led the defendant
to the dock “tragic and catastrophic” not just for the victims but also for her.
In addition to her prison term, Magsino was also
barred from driving in Hong Kong for five years, a sentence that will, however, have no consequence on her as she will likely be deported back to the Philippines
after getting out of jail.
A week ago, Judge Casewell convicted Magsino of the
two charges laid against her, one for dangerous driving that caused the death of
one individual, and the second, for causing grievous bodily harm to four other
people.
The case arose after Magsino failed to engage the
brake on a car she had parked on a slope on Peel Street in Central on Dec. 10,
2021, causing it to roll downhill at a fast clip, then hitting a number of
people outside a bar at the intersection with Staunton Street.
One of those hit was young French woman Elodie Ma,
who died in the hospital 25 days after the crash. The others suffered various
injuries including one of the witnesses, who sustained multiple fractures.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Casewell was told by the
defense that all the civil claims that arose from the incident had been
settled.
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| This car's dash cam showed the white car that Magsino had parked hitting people on the street |
Despite the defendant not pleading guilty to the
charges, the judge accepted that she had been remorseful and apart from this
singular error in judgment, had an exemplary record, both for her work as a
domestic helper since 2009, and her driving.
The judge noted that a number of people who had
written to the court in support of Magsino, including her previous employers,
had spoken highly of her and expressed deep appreciation for her work.
But the judge said he also had to consider as
aggravating factor the fact that because of the defendant’s negligence a number of
people had suffered injuries, and one of them had died from those injuries.
The judge used as starting point in sentencing for
the first charge a prison term of 33 months, and suspension of driver’s licence
for five years. For the second offence, the starting point was 24 months in jail
plus two years of disqualification from driving.
As the two charges arose from the same incident, he
ordered that the sentences be served concurrently, and gave a six-month discount
for the mitigating circumstances, resulting in a final sentence of 27 months
and five-year disqualification from driving.
In court to give support to Magsino were her female
employer and three Filipino friends who were told that an appeal against
conviction and/or sentence could be lodged.
