Maid admits stealing employer’s jewelry worth $79k

By Vir B. Lumicao

Nisperos will be sentenced on Apr 21 at West Kowloon Court

A 33-year-old Filipina domestic helper has pleaded guilty in West Kowloon Court to the theft of assorted jewelry valued at $79,000 from her employer between December last year and early February this year.

Rubelyn Nisperos, married and a mother of 13-year-old girl, admitted the charge before Magistrate Lau Suk-han today, Apr 7.

Nisperos said through her lawyer that she had to provide for the medical needs of her ailing parents.

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She will be sentenced on Apr 21 after the magistrate reads a background report on her.

“Defendant, your offense is a serious breach of trust that you committed out of greed. I am going to adjourn your case for two weeks pending a background report. In the meantime, you are remanded in jail custody,” Lau said.

The prosecution said Nisperos stole the jewelry items between Dec 22 and Feb 2 in the house of her employer, Li Chung-yin, in Cheung Sha Wan.

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Li discovered that several pieces of her jewelry were missing when she was cleaning her bedroom on Feb 6.

When the employer asked the defendant about the missing jewelry, Nisperos admitted taking them, and showed receipts from a pawnshop where she had hocked the items.

Li reported the theft to the police, who arrested the maid. On Feb 9, investigators recovered all the stolen items from the pawnshop. She was charged in Kwun Tong Court on Feb 12.

The prosecution said Nisperos, who came to Hong Kong in 2015 to work as a helper, has a clear record.

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In mitigation, the defense lawyer asked for a lenient sentence, saying Nisperos pleaded guilty to the charge at the first instance and had no prior conviction.  

He said his client admitted committing the offense out of greed and because she needed money to buy her parents’ medicines.

When Lau asked Nisperos if she had proof such as medical certificates of her parents’ illnesses, she said yes but these were in the Philippines.

The magistrate adjourned the case until Apr 21.

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New Covid-19 cases include newly arrived FDH, 4 linked to bars

By The SUN

Arriving passengers at HK Airport collect documents before undergoing 14 days of forced quarantine

Another foreign domestic worker who just arrived from a vacation in France with her employers has tested positive for Covid-19, according to Health Department officials in their press briefing today, Apr. 17.

She is among the 21 new confirmed cases, which brought Hong Kong’s tally to 936. Of these, 236 have recovered, and have been discharged from various hospitals.

As in the past few days, a majority of the new cases involve residents who have recently returned from overseas. Of today’s 12 imported cases, four are international students.

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Today is the second day in a row that a FDH had tested positive for the coronavirus disease. Yesterday, another who had just come back from Britain with her employers, was also confirmed as having the disease.

Centre for Health Protection’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the 40-year-old helper in today’s case had been to France with her employers between Mar 1 and Apr 4, when she returned to Hong Kong.

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Also included in today’s tally are four cases related to the so-called “bar cluster,” which struck a group of musicians, staff and patrons of four pubs in Central, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui. There are now 97 cases linked to this cluster.

The new cases are said to be “second generation cases” because they involve family members and a neighbor of the people with direct links to the bars. One is the wife of a staff member; another, a husband, and a third, a son.

The fourth is a resident who lives next door to two confirmed patients at Yick Shing Mansion in Wan Chai.

Dr Wong Ka-hing, CHP’s controller, revealed that health officers had mistakenly sent the father, instead of his infected son, to the hospital. The Nepalese family had been in a quarantine centre after being identified as close contacts of an infected patient.

The father was kept in the hospital for about six hours before the mistake was realized. He was tested before being returned to the quarantine centre, and returned a negative result. The case is being investigated.

 

There are now 96 cases linked to 4 bars, including Insomnia in Lan Kwai Fong
 

More new cases were also reported in outbreaks in two separate karaoke bars.

Three people who went with a group to CEO Neway in Causeway Bay, and who all worked with different branches of Marks & Spences Food store were among the new cases. Another colleague who went to the same bar had tested positive earlier.

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One more case has also been linked to RED MR Karaoke in Tsim Sha Tsui, where seven infections were earlier confirmed. An eighth case involving a family member was also reported last week, while today’s case, the ninth, is the father of one of the people in the group.

Of the nine locally acquired cases, no link has been established for one involving a 38-year-old Nepalese woman who is 19 months pregnant. She is said to live on Temple St in Jordan.

The health officials said they are asking more private doctors to help them administer the test for the virus, as those who have done it so far have returned a 2% positive report, higher than those at the testing centers.

As in the hospitals and the testing centers, the tests being administered by private doctors are free to those who show symptoms of Covid-19.

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HK ban on non-residents now indefinite, as Covid-19 cases soar past 900

By The SUN

Passenger arrivals at HK Airport has dwindled to a few hundreds after the govt banned entry of non-residents

Hong Kong has extended “until further notice” its ban on all non-residents flying in from overseas. The ban, originally imposed for only 14 days from Mar 25, was supposed to last only until tomorrow, Apr. 7.

A government spokesman announced the move late tonight, as the city’s number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 breached the 900-mark.

A total of 24 new cases were reported today, raising Hong Kong’s total tally to 914.

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The new cases include a foreign domestic helper who traveled to Britain with her employers, two young boys whose mother works for a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui, and a musician who played in the same bar.

As in recent days, a majority, or 18 of the new cases had travel history. They included five who were among those airlifted from Peru yesterday, three are international students, and the domestic worker.

Records from the Centre for Health Protection show that the 39-year-old helper whose nationality has not been disclosed, was in the United Kingdom along with her employers, between Mar 11 and Apr 1, when they returned to Hong Kong.

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The helper proceeded to self-quarantine at her employer’s house at Island Crest in Sai Ying Pun on arrival, but developed a sore throat and cough on the same day.

Two sons of a woman who works at All Night Long in Tsim Sha Tsui, aged 3 and 8, also tested positive today, after developing a fever on Mar. 27 at their home in Oi Man Estate in Homantin. Their mother was found infected earlier. Both boys were confined at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yaumatei.

A related case is that of a 56-year-old male employee of the same bar who was tested despite not showing any symptoms. He is now in isolation at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, and his four close contacts put under quarantine.

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Another bar-related case is that of a 44-year-old musician, who is part of a several bands that played in All Night Long, Insomnia in Central, and Centre Stage and Dusk Till Dawn in Wanchai. He was asymptomatic when tested for the virus.

 

A waitress in this TST bar, now closed, infected her sons, aged 3 and 8

One of the six local cases is a worker at a food outlet of Marks & Spencer in Windsor House, Causeway Bay. The 48-year-old man had a mild runny nose since Mar 23 and worked until Mar 28 but with a face mask, reports said. His wife developed similar symptoms on Mar 27 and tested positive on Apr 2.

The man went without a mask to a farewell karaoke party for a colleague on Mar 25 at the CEO Neway karaoke lounge in Causeway Bay. All the other party-goers were considered close contacts after two of them developed symptoms. They are now in a hospital while the rest are in quarantine centers.

Previously, seven people and a relative of one of them were confirmed infected after visiting a karaoke lounge run by RedMR in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of communicable diseases at the Centre for Health Protection, said people who develop mild symptoms should visit a doctor as soon as possible and avoid going to work.

Among the 18 imported cases are the five locals who had been stranded in Peru. They were among more than 60 residents who had been stranded there and flown back by the Hong Kong government on Sunday.

Meanwhile, six local residents were fined $2,000 each Monday after refusing to break up a game of chess in breach of social-distancing laws. They were the first violators of the city’s ban on public gatherings of more than four people imposed o Mar 29.

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The men, aged 52-68, were chess players and observers caught in Kwai Shing East Estate in Kwai Chung shortly before 4pm on Sunday.

As of this writing, the global tally of Covid-19 cases approached 1.3 million with 70,000 deaths and nearly 262 recovered.

The tally in the United States climbed to nearly 350,000 cases and more than 9.600 deaths. Spain followed with more than 135,000 cases and over 13,000 deaths.

The death toll in Italy approached 16,000 from a tally of close to 130,000 infected with the coronavirus.

In the Philippines, the number of cases reached 3,660 while the death toll was 163.

 

Airline crew are exempted on the ban on non-residents, but not a lot of them fly into HK now

Under the travel restrictions imposed by Hong Kong on Mar 25 which have now been extended indefinitely, the following rules apply:

   • All non-Hong Kong residents coming from overseas countries and regions by plane will be denied entry to Hong Kong;
     • Non-Hong Kong residents coming from the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan will be denied entry to Hong Kong if they have been to any overseas countries and regions in the past 14 days;
     • All transit services at Hong Kong International Airport will be suspended; and
     • All travellers coming from Macau and Taiwan, including Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong residents, will be subject to a 14-day compulsory quarantine, which is the same as the arrangements for people entering Hong Kong from the Mainland.

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Police leave empty-handed after raid on City Hall gamblers

By Vir B. Lumicao

Photo beside the bus stop outside City Hall shows gamblers placing bets of between $200-$500 per game

Hong Kong police launched a surprise raid on illegal gamblers near a bus stop beside City Hall in Edinburgh Place last Saturday, Apr 4, but left the place empty-handed.

The Police Public Relations Branch said the force received information around 3pm that groups of migrant workers were illegally gambling with playing cards near the stop for bus 13 at City Hall.

But when officers arrived, the groups of workers betting on the card games as well as the South Asian bankers scampered, said Filipino migrants who saw the incident.

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“There was no illegal gambling when the officers arrived. No one was arrested,” a PPRB spokeswoman said on Apr 5.

In a recent statement, the Hong Kong Police said that it “has spared no effort in combating illegal gambling activities and has been monitoring such illegal activities for enforcement.” 

However, the illegal betting in Central continued, even after the Consulate issued an advisory on Mar 4 against the activity, and warned of the stiff penalties that await offenders.

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The PCG issued the warning after the police called its attention to groups of Filipino workers who were illegally gambling in various areas in Central.

According to Consul General Raly Tejada, he personally visited the notorious site after the warning was put up to plead with the Filipinos gambling there to stop, but was ignored.

The footpath around City Hall has been roped off, but gamblers simply squat on the area beside it.

He was told afterwards that a syndicate run by a group of Filipinos and South Asians could be behind the proliferation of illegal gambling in the area.

A video taken on Mar 15 showed workers milling around three groups of gamblers beside the Bus 13 stop. The bankers were South Asian men who were being assisted by Filipinas. Other South Asian men mixed with kibitzers and served as lookouts.

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Bets laid on the playing mat ranged from $200 to $500 and money changed hands quickly.

A walk around Central recently showed groups of workers also gambling at another hotspot, the vicinity of the HSBC headquarters along Queen’s Road and Des Voeux Road.

Similar groups could also be seen playing cards for small bets along a footbridge linking Chater Garden in Central and Queensway Plaza in Admiralty.

This time, however, the card or bingo players were complying with the four-to-a-group rule by the government to help stop the coronavirus spread.

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Scourge of our time

By Daisy Catherine L. Mandap

What a difference a month makes. If someone told me last month that the novel coronavirus would leave the entire world on bended knees I would have thought that person crazy.

That time, Covid-19 was something thought of as just another disease that started in China, and would dissipate as soon as temperatures rose – much like the way Sars did 17 years ago.

We in Hong Kong were more naturally wary, as we still remember the fear and the pain brought on by Sars. We were the epicenter then, like Wuhan was for the coronavirus.

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We took precautions guided by that grim experience, but as it turns out now, not nearly well enough.

Once again an unseen enemy, a new, more ferocious virus, is just outside our door. It is knocking, but we are best advised to stay indoors. Go out only if you must, and always arm yourself, not with a gun, but with a mask and a hand sanitizer.

Not even in our wildest dreams did it cross our minds that we could be fighting a one-sided battle with an enemy that moves like the wind, strikes like a knife, and is not afraid of anyone, be it a prime minister, a king-in-waiting, or a Hollywood star.

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While we were debating whether to lock our borders with China, or shut offices or schools, the enemy decided to move elsewhere.

Down came dozens of tourists aboard two luxury cruise ships in Japan and the United States. At the same time, hundreds of people belonging to a secretive sect in South Korea were virtually mowed down, one after another.

Without a warning, it again reared its deadly head in Europe. First destination was Italy, where the elderly became its easy prey. By the hundreds they fell, that in just about two weeks, the death toll had passed 10,000, a grim reminder that this enemy knows no mercy.

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Then it swooped on the mighty countries that were once protagonists in many of the world’s epic battles.

First, Spain, then France, Netherlands, Germany, and finally, the United Kingdom, where the coronavirus lingered to make a point.

Both the country’s prime minister and the second-in-line to the throne were stricken, with neither knowing where the blow had come from.

The onslaught continued, until the high-and-mighty, the one claiming to be the remaining superpower in the world, has been brought to its knees. Its president, who boasted just a few days ago that the United States would be back on track in a matter of days, has completely changed his tune.

Yes, he admits, the virus could kill as many as 100,000 Americans, and this could well be two million if we didn’t take more stringent measures now, like locking up everybody in their homes for another full month, until the enemy withdraws.

In Britain and other more cautious countries, the forecast for when citizens might be allowed to emerge from beneath the trenches is longer, like another six months, even longer.

Just about anywhere, the picture is grim. More frighteningly so in countries which do not have much to spare in terms of funds and other resources, or lack officials who appreciate the danger that stares them in the face, as the Philippines.

Hong Kong, Singapore or even China are not off the hook, either. They may have managed to stave off the enemy because they were better prepared from the Sars experience, but they, too, now face the prospect of squaring off with it again, after it has piggybacked on many of their residents arriving from overseas.

For many of us, the battle for survival continues. Not only in terms of keeping our mortal bodies alive, but also in ensuring we get to hold on to our jobs, our security, and our sanity.

We may be in this for the long haul, but if we do as we’re told by the experts, we will survive. Stay safe, healthy and wise. Remain indoors as much as possible. If all else fails, pray.

We have to believe — that this, too, shall pass.

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