DH in court for drug trafficking and related charges

Eastern Magistracy in Sai Wan Ho

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina domestic worker appeared on Eastern Court on Jan 17 facing three drug-related charges, including drug trafficking.

The focus of the magistrate, however, was not on the defendant, Michelle Dabao, but on the attempt by the prosecution to adjourn the hearing yet again for another four weeks.

Dabao was arrested sometime late last year, while allegedly carrying an unspecified amount of dangerous drugs and equipment to sniff drugs.

She was charged with one count each of “trafficking in a dangerous drug,” “possession of a dangerous drug” and “possession of apparatus fit for the inhalation of a dangerous drug”. No other details were given. 

Magistrate Peter Law asked the prosecutor if she was trying to hide some information from the court for seeking a new adjournment until Feb 14 for the same “for further legal advice”, the same reason she gave for the adjournment on Dec 15.

The prosecutor said investigators were still considering what charge they would lay against Dabao based on the findings on her drug test.

She assured the judge she was giving the court true information and that it would take one to two days to prepare the file and send it to the Justice Department.

“But the file was sent to the DOJ on Jan 3, two weeks before the application for adjournment. Why didn’t you tell the court on Dec 15?” Magistrate Law asked.

He told the prosecutor to tell the police there would be no application for adjournment until she gets a full picture of the investigation, as the defendant has been in custody for some time.

“Tell the police if they don’t give the prosecution the whole picture, it will be their fault,” Law said.

The judge allowed the adjournment this time, but shortened it to two weeks until Jan 24.

He told Dabao to return to court then. In the meantime, he ordered her remanded into custody.

  

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Filipina seeks $250k damages for injuries from falling glass shelf

The District Court is part of the Wanchai law courts

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina maid who was driven out of her employer’s house just three days after she underwent surgery for injuries sustained when a glass shelf fell on her feet, is seeking a $250,000 compensation through the District Court.

Cherry (not her real name) appeared before Judge Katina Levy on Jan 18 to apply for leave to amend her address in her application for employee compensation more than two years after the accident.

The private lawyer representing her employer also applied to amend the spelling of the employer’s name.

Judge Levy approved the amendments and ordered the applicant to file the amended application within 40 days of its release and the respondent to file her answer also within 40 days from receipt of her copy of the application.

The judge also allowed the counsel to remove from the case records the employer’s Chinese answer to the claim after Cherry agreed.

No date has been set for a hearing as the claimant is still awaiting the result of her application for Legal Aid.

The Filipina said she injured both her feet when a loose glass shelf fell on her insteps while she was cleaning a steel rack in the house of her employer on Oct 9, 2016. She had been with the employer for just a month at the time.

It was her rest day but the employer allegedly let her do house chores such as walking the dog, cleaning the house and washing the dishes on returning to the flat.

Cherry said she was bleeding profusely and could not stand and walk after the accident, but the employer, who was in her bedroom, allegedly ignored her cries for help. She said she was in shock and too confused to call the police for assistance.

She said she had to crawl to the employer’s room and asked to be taken to the hospital, but the latter only scolded her reportedly for being careless and blamed her for the accident.

It was her male employer who took her to the hospital, where her wounds were stitched and treated for two days. On the third day in hospital, the employer allegedly sent an ambulance service crew to fetch her and take her back to her flat.

The maid was then still unable to walk and using crutches when she returned to the flat. She said the employer allegedly told her to stay in her room but did not give her food and water. She just subsisted on biscuits and milk that she herself had bought.

After her second day in the flat, the employer allegedly told her to write a resignation letter because she wouldn’t be able to work anyway.

Cherry said she resisted at first, telling the employer to fire her instead so she would pay her one month’s wage. But the employer reportedly refused to fire her, saying she won’t pay her.

Helpless and fearing she would only die without food and medical care, the maid said she wrote a resignation letter. Cherry said it was the employer who added the last sentence putting Oct 12, 2016 as the effective date of her termination.

Cherry’s sister-in-law and friends from Jesus Is Lord church fetched her on the ground level of her employer’s block and took her to the JIL shelter, where she has stayed since then.

After her eviction, the Filipina took her case to the Labour Department, which elevated it to the Labour Tribunal because the employer refused to settle.

The maid said the court awarded only her claim for plane ticket and advised her to file her civil claim for compensation in the District Court.

Her JIL friends are helping Cherry with all her needs as she fights her case. She has also consulted with human rights solicitors Daly, Ho and Associates.

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Suspect’s illness delays US$100B ‘fake check’ case anew

District Court in Wanchai

By Vir B. Lumicao

A three-day trial in District Court of a Filipino tourist accused of using a false instrument was reset on Jan 16 when the defendant could not attend because he was sick.

The elderly defendant, Celerino L. Tinana, was in a hospital with doctors monitoring his heartbeat, his Legal Aid-assigned counsel told Judge David Dufton.

The prosecution had asked for a two-week adjournment but the judge, visibly irritated, said the case was already adjourned during the last hearing on Nov 14, 2018, supposed to be the start of a three-day trial.

Dufton adjourned the hearing and ordered the prosecution to call the hospital and ascertain if the defendant would be available for trial in three days.

Tinana, an Ilocano, was arrested in November 2017 while allegedly presenting a fake check for US$100 billion in a Kowloon branch of Bank of China.

He was granted bail in the previous hearing by District Court Judge Eddie Yip, who also agreed to adjourn the case until Jan 16 despite objections from the defense.

Tinana is one of a growing number of Filipino tourists, many of them elderly, who have been arrested over the past two years on similar charges. Several have been convicted, three acquitted, and the rest are still awaiting trial in District Court.

It is not clear why they had agreed to present to banks what to many appear to be patently spurious documents.

The latest Filipino tourist arrested for allegedly trying to pass off false instruments as genuine was David Morano Jr. He was nabbed in July last year while allegedly trying to transact business in a local bank using fake gold certificates worth US$500 billion.

The trial of the longest-held defendant, 76-year-old Maria Ilao Gosilatar, on a charge of “using a false instrument,” will start on Jan 30 in District Court,

Gosilatar was arrested on Dec 9, 2016, for allegedly trying to cash a US$50 million fake check at the Hang Seng Bank headquarters in Central. She had been in custody since then.

The biggest of these false instrument cases involves Brudencio J. Bolaños, another elderly Filipino who allegedly tried to update his account at HSBC on Apr 9 using a US$943 billion deposit slip ostensibly issued by the bank on Jul 25, 1983.

He was arrested after he allegedly tried to convince bank staff the document was genuine. On Sept 4 last year, his trial was set for Jan 29 this year after his Legal Aid lawyer said Bolaños was going to plead not guilty.

At least three others charged with the same offense were, however, acquitted in September last year, after the prosecution decided to drop the charges against them for insufficient evidence.

Elmer Soliman, 57, his son Eric Jude Soliman, 31, and government lawyer Eliseo Martinez, 43, were acquitted of a charge of trying to pass off a fake US$5billion bank draft as genuine.

However, Magistrate Peter Law denied their application for costs, saying he suspected a money laundering attempt in the case.

The three had been in custody for nearly three months before their acquittal and release.

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What's on, where

Consultation Meeting on Health Checks for OFWs
Jan. 20, 3pm onwards
POLO Conference Room, 16/F, Mass Mutual Tower, 33 Lockhart Rd, Wanchai
All invited leaders are enjoined to attend
Contact: Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre on Facebook

Free Financial Literacy Seminar
Jan. 20, 9am-5pm
POLO Community Hall, 18/F, Mass Mutual Tower, 33 Lockhart Road
Organized by: CARD HK Foundation
To reserve your slot, call 56002526, 54238196 or 95296392
Watch out for similar whole-day workshops on these dates:
Sunday: Feb 24, Mar 24, June 23, July 21
Saturday: Apr 13, Aug 17
Guaranteed no networking involved.
Free handouts provided and certificates will be given

Protest Action vs Mandatory Insurance & Health Check-Up
Jan. 27, 2pm onwards
Chater Road, Central
Organizer: Unifil-Migrante HK
Contact: Dolo, 9747 2986

Studying in the Philippines
3pm, Jan 27, 2019
Philippine Consulate Conference Room, 14/F United Centre
A talk on secondary and tertiary studies with speakers from leading Philippine universities Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Silliman University, University of the Philippines, and University of Santo Tomas
The symposium marks the last day of the Hong Kong Education and Careers Expo at the Hong Kong Trade and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai

Philippine Booth at Education & Careers Expo
Jan 24-27, 2019
HK Convention & Exhibition Centre, Wanchai
Please look for the Philippine booth, 1E-E19
Recommended for those intending to study in the Philippines
For more information, check out: http://m.hktdc.com/fair/hkeducationexpo-en/HKTDC-Education-and-Careers-

Registration for ALSE 73 & 74
(Ateneo Livelihood & Social Entrepreneurship Program)
Feb 2 & 3, 9:30am-12nn
Venue: MERC, 12/F Euro Trade Centre, 21-23 Des Voeux Rd Central
Contacts:
Saturday class: Analyn, 6500 9288 / Sharon, 5507 5997
Sunday class: Wilma, 9386 2514 / Marilou, 6216 4198

Lea Salonga in Concert with the HK Philharmonic 
(Natatanging Tinig ng Broadway Handog Para sa mga Pilipino)
Feb 10, 3pm & 4:45pm
HK Cultural Centre
Tickets @ $200/$150 URBTIX: www.urbtix.hk

Wimler Charity Dinner
Feb 15 (Friday), 6:30 – 11:00pm
King’s Cuisine, 6th floor, Windsor House, Causeway Bay
For reservations & booking, contact: Myrna Hill, 9803 8049;  Emilie Veringa-Tobias, -51910902; Cathe Marsden, 95360166 or Luz Tan, 96309311

Announcements

PUBLIC HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT: 
The Philippine Consulate General and all its attached agencies including POLO will be closed on the following dates: Feb 5, 6 & 7 : Lunar New Year
There will be no official transactions on these dates.
In case of emergency, call:
9155 4023 (Consular assistance)
5529 1880 (POLO)
6345 9324 (OWWA)

Pinoy Food Festival
Jan 16-18, 2019
Pinoy Feast@Stone Nullah Tavern, 69 Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai. Featuring Chef Jay Catapang. The food feast features Filipino favorites like bulalo, palabok, lechon and more. For information and booking, please call 3182.0128 or email info@stonenullahtavern.com

PAHK Induction of 2019 Officers
Jan. 17, 7pm onwards, Philippine Consulate General’s Conference Room. Organized by: Philippine Association of Hong Kong. All members and those interested to join PAHK are invited

HealthWise: A Free Basic Medical Check for OFWs
Daily, except Friday, POLO Office, 18/F, Mass Mutual Tower, 33 Lockhart Rd., Wanchai
Organized by: Philippine Overseas Labor Office HK in collaboration with Filipino Nurses Association HK and Balikatan sa Kaunlaran HK

Police tighten security as election period begins

As the 150-day election period began, the Philippine National Police (PNP) started implementing tighter security measures such as a nationwide gun ban and setting up of police checkpoints across the country.

On May 13, Filipinos will vote into office a total of 18,095 officials nationwide, from senators to town councilors.

Registered overseas Filipinos will start voting on April 13 but the ballots will be kept at the posts until they are sent to Commission on Elections (Comelec) for counting at the end of voting on Election Day.

PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde said all police security details assigned to politicians would also be recalled.



The gun ban prohibits the carrying of firearms outside residences and suspends the processing and issuance of gun licenses.

Earlier last week, the PNP chief said only law enforcement personnel such as the police and military as well as civilians who were granted exemptions by the Comelec would be authorized to carry firearms during the period ending on June 2.

Starting midnight on Sunday, the PNP put up at least one checkpoint in each city and municipality nationwide, in coordination with the Comelec and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.



The PNP said the checkpoints sought “to intercept guns, explosives and other instruments of violence, including illegal security personnel that may mar the holding of peaceful, credible and fair midterm elections in May.”

With the security measures in place, the Comelec will also launch Regional and Provincial Election Monitoring and Action Centers to monitor the conduct of the campaign period.



The Comelec had warned candidates in the midterm elections they run the risk of being disqualified from taking office if their posters, billboards and other campaign materials were not taken down two days before the start of the campaign period on Feb. 12.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said they expected the candidates to ramp up efforts to woo voters in the coming days, especially with the start of the election period.



Though it is still a month away from the official campaign period, Jimenez said the public could expect an increase in the visibility of candidates, particularly those running for a Senate seat.

The PNP has listed 18 towns and municipalities as election “hot spots.” The number does not include Daraga, Albay and Cotabato City, two trouble areas that the Comelec said should “also be watched.”

AFP chief of staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said they would immediately act on any report linking members of the military’s civilian auxiliary force to politicians’ private armed groups.

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