Pinoy seaman awaits sentence as Colombian jailed 24 yrs for drug trafficking

Filipino seaman who brought the cocaine into Hong Kong awaits sentencing at High Court

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Colombian man arrested in June last year along with a Filipino seafarer who brought nearly 2 kilograms of cocaine molded like shoe soles into Hong Kong has been sentenced to more than 24 years in jail for drug trafficking.

The cocaine was shaped to look like shoe soles

Cristhian Enrique Posso, 38, was sentenced on Dec 12 by High Court Judge Esther Toh at the end of a 10-day trial in which the jury unanimously found the defendant guilty of trafficking in a dangerous drug.

The jury acquitted another Colombian man, Jose Gonzalez Uribe, who was arrested by customs and police officers along with Posso and seaman Carlito B. Platon on Nathan Road in Yaumatei on June 2 last year.

Toh immediately sentenced Posso on Wednesday after prosecutor Alex Ng said the defendant had three previous convictions, including one in 2010, also for drug trafficking, for which he was sentenced to 8 years in jail.

Posso was reportedly a torture claimant who applied for non-refoulement (or against being sent back to his home country) after coming to Hong Kong as a visitor. 

His counsel, Richard Donald, confirmed Posso’s previous convictions said in mitigation that his client was 38 years old, married and has three children including twin daughters.

Toh sentenced Posso to 23 years in jail for trafficking in 1.982 kg of solid cocaine with a purity of 1.333 kg. Then she added 15 more months for what she said was Posso’s bad record and abuse of Hong Kong’s hospitality despite his recognizance status.

The judge said nothing on when Platon would be sentenced. The Filipino admitted his guilt before Toh on Nov 27, a day before the start of the trial of Posso and Uribe.

Consul Paulo Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, told The SUN he hoped the sentence on Platon would be cut further because of his guilty plea and for cooperating with investigators.

“Hopefully, his guilty plea would lead to a further reduction of his sentence,” Saret said.

Platon took the witness stand during the trial despite having been approached by a man who introduced himself as a lawyer and allegedly threatened him in order not to testify for the prosecution.

“I came to court not to get a discount, but only to clear my conscience," Toh quoted Platon as telling Posso’s counsel Donald when the lawyer told him during cross-examination that the Filipino was testifying to get a discount.

Toh, summarizing the case to the jury, said the three were arrested shortly after they left Panda Hotel in Jordan Road on a taxi on June 2 last year.

Posso, accompanied by Uribe, booked a room at the hotel, and shortly after, Platon arrived and delivered the cocaine.

The judge said customs and police officers intercepted the three and recovered HK$105,000 that Platon had received for delivering the drug.

The money, in four stacks of $500 bank notes bundled with rubber bands, was found in Platon’s rucksack during his arrest on Nathan Road. Posso and Uribe tried to run away but were nabbed by other officers.

Filipinos in North Point bus crash identified

Velasco gets advice from Labatt dela Torre

By Daisy CL Mandap

Two overseas Filipino workers injured in the fatal bus crash in North Point on Monday, Dec 10, have been identified by officers of the Consulate as Silvestre Velasco, Jr. and Marjorie Salvador.

Velasco, 50, is a family driver who has been working in Hong Kong for years. He visited Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre on Wednesday, a day after being discharged from the Pamela Youde Nethersole Hospital in Chai Wan with his right arm still in bandage.

Salvador, 43, who hkas been working in Hong Kong for just over three months, has yet to be contacted by officers of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, but is presumed to be still in hospital.

The two were injured when a bus that had just been parked by its driver on Cheung Hong street rolled down the slope and crossed busy Kings Road, before hitting two vendors’ stalls in an alley on the other side.

Four people were killed on the spot and 11 others, including the two Filipinos and the bus driver, were injured.

 

During his visit to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, Velasco reportedly recounted how he was sideswiped by the runaway bus while he was standing on the pavement on Cheung Hong street.

He had reportedly just bought a packed lunch after dropping off his employer’s child at a nearby school when he saw the bus start to move. Velasco said he tried to move away from the vehicle’s path but he was still hit on his right arm.

At the time, Velasco said he was nearly abreast of the driver and saw him try to stop the bus from rolling down the hilly road, but was instead run over.

Latest reports indicate the bus driver is still in serious condition, with wounds to his head and upper body.

Labatt dela Torre advised Velasco about the claims he could pursue as a result of his injury, including employee compensation and financial aid from the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance scheme of the Social Welfare Department.

He could also apply for Legal Aid to pursue a personal injury claim from the insurers of the school bus.

On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam pledged help to the families of those who died or were injured in the accident. She also said safety measures to prevent road accidents will be stepped up.

North Point traffic accident victims to get help from govt

A makeshift shrine to the dead at the spot where the bus finally came to a halt

By The SUN

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has promised help to the families of those who died or were injured in yesterday’s traffic accident in North Point.

 Cheung Hong street, from where the empty bus
rolled down and started mowing down people

Speaking to reporters before an Executive Council meeting today, Mrs Lam also said the police will thoroughly investigate the accident.

Four pedestrians were killed when an empty school bus rolled down Cheung Hong Street, then crossed busy King’s Road, before hitting a post and stopping on Hei Wo street.

Eleven others were injured, including the bus driver who used his body in a vain attempt to stop the vehicle; and two Filipinos, a 50-year-old man and 43-year-old woman whose identities are still being ascertained by Philippine Consulate officials.

According to staff at the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, Hong Kong Police have said the two injured had Hong Kong ID cards, meaning they are not tourists, but declined to give their names.

The restaurant sideswiped by the bus: Many Filipinas often
wait for their wards at a school two doors down

Officers at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said they tried to check with the two hospitals where the injured Filipinos were taken: Ruttonjee in Wanchai and Pamela Youde Nethersole in Chaiwan, but could not get any other information.

Welfare officer Virsie Tamayao said she wanted to find out if they were migrant Filipino workers so their families back in the Philippines could be notified.

The Consulate officers were also keen to check on the patients, even if police have assured them that both are in stable condition.

The freak incident was the latest in a series of fatal traffic accidents to have happened in Hong Kong since the start of the year.

Citing Transport Department figures, Mrs. La said the number of fatal traffic accidents in the first 11 months of this year has increased by about 10% compared to the same period last year.

 

She promised the government will step up its effort to enhance road safety.

“As a result of the very serious, fatal traffic accidents this year, the relevant departments will, of course in light of the investigations of every incident, recommend and take the necessary measures," she said.

She said some safety measures are already being tightened up, and as promised in her Policy Address, public funds could be used to further enhance safety to protect the public.

As she spoke, cars were again parked on the slopes of Cheung Hong street, even as traces of blood, apparently from the injured bus driver, could still be seen on the ground.

The warped door of a restaurant that was hit when the bus mounted the pavement as it accelerated towards King’s Road also serves as a mute testimony to the mayhem that occurred the day before.

On Pei Ho street, where the bus came to a halt after hitting most of the casualties, solemn-faced pedestrians laid flowers and fruit offerings at a makeshift shrine to the dead.

But elsewhere in the area, it was back to business, and traffic along King’s Road was again as busy as ever.

Filipina wins $19k from fake employer who tried to send her to China

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina has been awarded more than $19,000 from a Hong Kong woman who pretended to be the employer who hired her four months ago, then tried to send her to China to work for another person.

Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre

The compensation order was made by Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre who met with the worker and the fake employer on Nov. 19



During the meeting, Dela Torre said he discovered that the domestic worker’s contract did not bear the name of the poseur and that the address given was different from where she was taken to work. 



Also, the chop on her contract was that of a sub-agent, and not by her Hong Kong employment agency.

Dela Torre said he told the local woman that what she was trying to do was in breach of Immigration rules.



He ordered the woman to pay the Filipina three months salary, or $13,320; plus a full refund of the Php40,000 ($5,960) that she paid her agency in the Philippines for training and other charges.

The woman reportedly agreed to do as she was told immediately.



According to the worker, she broke her contract after learning that she was to be sent to China to work.



She was reportedly told by the local woman that her “real employer” had already secured a China visitor visa for her, so she would be taken there to work.

The helper, a first-timer in Hong Kong, is using her 14-day visa extension to look for a new employer.