Filipina DH now accused of stealing jewelry worth $14.6 million from employer

By Vir B. Lumicao

The case will be moved from the magistracy to the High Court because of the huge amount involved

A staggering $14.6 million (or Php95 million) worth of jewelry is now said to have been stolen by Filipina domestic helper Carmelita Nones from her rich Hong Kong employers, in the biggest theft case of its kind in the city.

Nones, 45,  appeared in Eastern Court again today, Jun 30, as the final value of her alleged loot was disclosed by prosecution.

She will now have to go to the Court of First Instance to face six theft charges against her, as the amount involved is way above what the lower courts could deal with.

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The prosecution alleged that Nones stole 200 jewelry pieces from David Liang, former executive director of New World Development Co, and his wife.

Magistrate Bina Chainrai adjourned the hearing until Jul 14 for plea-taking so the prosecution can amend the charges based on the final report of the investigators. The prosecutor said the police are still making an inventory of the stolen items.

In the previous hearing on May 19, more than 70 additional pieces of jewelry were added to Nones’ alleged loot, raising the total value of the stolen property to $9 million.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

Before this, the amount involved was increased to $1 million from the initial $100,000 which was the value of two Piaget watches she was initially accused of stealing following her arrest on Sept. 4 last year.

 

Gold bars formed part of the loot, prosecutors say (File photo)

The alleged loot has since grown to $14.6 million as more pawnshop receipts for jewelry pieces such as gold and diamond necklaces, bracelets and even gold bars were found by investigators.

The prosecution said some of the stolen items had been recovered from five pawnshops where Nones and three other persons had allegedly hocked them.

The three other people had reportedly given statements saying Nones had asked them to pawn the jewelry. No other details were disclosed.

Chainrai ordered Nones remanded in custody until the next hearing.

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14 Filipinos still missing after boat collided with HK vessel off Mindoro

By The SUN

The upturned hull of the Liberty 5 boat off Occidental Mindoro (PCG photo)

A search and rescue operation is still underway off Occidental Mindoro for 14 Filipinos, mostly fishermen, after their boat, F/V Liberty 5, collided with a Hong Kong-registered vessel early yesterday, Jun 28.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the collision happened off the coast of Mamburao as the fishing boat was on its way to Navotas from Cagayan.

The Hong Kong vessel M/V Vienna Wood, which departed from Subic and was supposedly on its way to Australia, had been escorted by the PCG to Batangas for further investigation.

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PCG spokesperson, Commodore Arman Balilo, said they were in close coordination with the Hong Kong vessel.

However, initial reports said the PCG had difficulty communicating with the Chinese-speaking Vienna Wood crew. But ultimately, the crew reportedly denied knowing about the collision with the fishing vessel.

Balilo said the sunken boat had 12 crew members, including the captain, as well as two passengers.

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"Some of our rescue personnel already sighted the overturned fishing boat," he added. "We will check the vicinity to find out the whereabouts of the fishermen involved," said Balilo.

 

Aerial search is also being carried out to locate the 14 missing people aboard the fishing boat

Another report cited the general manager of the company that owns F/V Liberty Cinco, as saying that their boat was badly damaged when it was hit by the Hong Kong vessel at 1am on Sunday.

Fermin Soto of boat owner Irma Fishing and Trading, told DZRH radio that the Vienna Woods left the badly damaged Liberty Cinco adrift at sea.

The company reportedly started searching for the boat after it missed its scheduled radio call to port, and failed to pull into the Navotas Fish Port as scheduled at 7 am.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

The company’s other boats that rushed to the Liberty Cinco's last reported location off Cape Calavite in Occidental Mindoro reported seeing some debris from the boat, but there were no signs of its passengers.

PCG divers arrived to inspect the capsized boat at around 4 pm Monday, but did not find the missing crew.

Soto said there was major damage on the boat, with the middle section of its hull badly caved in.

The PCG also reportedly noticed some damage on the Vienna Wood’s prow, which might indicate the angle from which it hit the Liberty Cinco.

Contacted for comment, the Department of Foreign Affairs said, "We need to verify the details of the incident first."

On June 9 last year, Chinese fishing vessel Yuemaobinyu 42212 hit Philippine fishing boat Gem-Ver while it was anchored on Recto Bank off Palawan. The Chinese vessel left Gem-Ver's 22 Filipino crew members adrift at sea, where they were later rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat. 

The fishermen still have to receive compensation from the owners of the Chinese vessel to this day.

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Pinoy tennis club announces tourney winners

TROPA, a tennis club made up of Filipinos in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, held a two-Sunday mixed doubles tournament ending last June 21 in time for Father’s Day. The awarding ceremonies were capped with a dinner for members with birthdays in June. 

The tandem of Willy Dario / Melody Batolanon went undefeated and slipped past, via tiebreak in the finals, the neophyte pair of Allan de Leon / Ruby Bilante, 6-5(10-9). The runners-up put up a tough fight, leading 5-2 in the tiebreak race to 6 points, but the veteran tandem of Aga and Melody managed to claw back to force a super tiebreak race to 10 points.

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The winning pair was given a total of HKD800 in cash plus medals and surprise gifts by the sponsors. The participants were divided into groups for a single round play. The top pairs advanced to a knock-out semifinals and the winners headed to the finals.

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The club’s continuous advancement in tennis is led by Allan Melendez, a professional coach, together with Victor Pumicpic, the club’s senior counsel. The club is managed by Elmer Palma, Michael Santos, Ramil Fajarda, Bai Leo Hibaya and Rey Flores, who make up the club’s board of directors, 

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

TROPA is registered with the Societies Office of the HK Police Licensing Office as a non-profit recreational organization. 

The group can be reached through its Facebook account, PinoyTennis Club HongKong. 

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Covid-19 cases in Phl now past 36,000 mark

By The SUN

An additional 985 cases of Covid-19 cases were reported in the Philippines as of 4pm today, Jun 29, raising the country’s total tally to 36,438.

Of the new cases reported, 643 were fresh cases, meaning the results were made known to the patient within three days; the remaining 342 cases were late cases. Only 38 of 67 operational laboratories submitted their test results today.

There were also 270 recoveries for the day, bringing the overall figure to 9,956.

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Of the 24,525 active cases, the majority, or 95.6%, have mild symptoms, while 3.8% are asymptomatic, 0.5% (or 126) are severe cases, and 0.1% (26) are critical.

Eleven deaths were reported, making the total tally 1,255.

Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has rejected the World Health Organization's report that the Philippines has recorded the highest number of new infections in the Western Pacific Region.

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"We beg to disagree," Roque said.

"Kung idi-divide ninyo ang kaso sa per million population, ito po ang lalabas na pinakamataas sa Western Pacific Region:  India, 549,197; followed by Pakistan 202,955; Bangladesh, 137,787; Indonesia,  54010;  Singapore, 43, 459; tapos po ang Pilipinas at 34,455."

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

But according to WHO data, the Philippines added nearly 10,000 confirmed cases in the past two weeks alone, which was almost triple the number recorded by Singapore in the same period.

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3 new arrivals from Phl test positive for Covid-19

By The SUN

The 3 new Covid-19 patients flew in from Manila to HK yesterday, Jun 28 (file photo)

Three women who flew in from Manila yesterday were among four new cases of Covid-19 reported today, Jun 29. They brought Hong Kong’s total tally to 1,204.

The fourth new case is a female student from Britain who arrived on Jul 16 and tested positive on the eve of her last day of mandatory quarantine.

Records from the Centre for Health Protection showed two of the new arrivals from the Philippines, aged 36 and 53 years old, were asymptomatic.

The third, also aged 36, and is described as “epidemiologically lined to the older woman, had a cough.

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The first patient was in the Philippines from Mar 2 to Jun 28; the second, from Mar 5, and the third, from Mar 1.

They were all taken from the AsiaWorld-Expo testing site to United Christian Hospital in Kowloon for isolation and treatment.

The student from Britain was moved to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yaumatei from her home in Knutsford Terrace in Tsim Sha Tsui.

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There were no local cases reported for the tenth straight day.

The recent spike in the number of passengers from Manila testing positive for the coronavirus disease on arrival at Hong Kong airport has led officials to consider requiring Filipino migrant workers to be quarantined outside their employer’s house.

 

HK officials the high rate of infection from Manila make Filipino domestics unsuitable for home quarantine

Labor Secretary Law Chi-kwong said on Saturday he was in talks with health officials on the possibility of declaring Filipino domestic workers unsuitable for home quarantine.

With an estimated 10,000 Filipino workers due to arrive in Hong Kong to take up employment, Law said there could be 65 infected patients from among them, given the rate of infection among new arrivals from Manila.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

He said these 65 patients could pass on the virus to people in their employers’ home, potentially causing a new community outbreak.

Law also said the government was not keen to see FDWs arriving by the thousands in the next few weeks, in line with measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.

 For details on the new cases, please check this link to the HK government's website: 

 https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202006/29/P2020062900588_344452_1_1593419208375.pdf

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Generous donors help avert closure of PathFinders’ shelter

By Vir B. Lumicao

PathFinders provides shelter for homeless migrant mothers and their children 

A first-ever call for funding assistance by PathFinders Limited, a Hong Kong non-government organization that is helping needy migrant mothers and their children, has received overwhelming support.

With still a few weeks to go before the fundraising is set to end, the NGO said it has already exceeded its target after an outpouring of support from donors.

“In total, we have raised $452,000, which will cover all shelter-related expenses until the end of 2020 and into 2021, and will ensure the health and safety of homeless babies and mothers,” said PathFinders, which is headed by chief executive Catherine Gurtin. 

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Gurtin took the unprecedented step on Jun 1 of emailing PathFinders supporters and friends to appeal for help to keep its shelter running until the end of the year.

The group had a target of $432,000 to cover all shelter-related expenses until Dec 31. Little did it expect that support for its crowd-funding activity would exceed expectations.

“A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us! We are deeply touched by your generosity to help those less privileged during this difficult time,” PathFinders said in an emailed update.

 

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

“Thank you too for all the wonderful messages of encouragement you shared with your donations, these have been a much-needed source of inspiration and hope for our team.”

Without funding support, PathFinders would have been left with no option than to shut its shelter, which it opened in 2012 to provide an abode for homeless and pregnant migrant workers.

Many of those who seek help from PathFinders are migrant women who are illegally fired by their employers after they get pregnant, leaving them homeless and with nowhere to go for help.

A few are forced to overstay due to the stigma of going home as a single mother, or because they got pregnant by a man other than their husband.

 

The NGO also holds talks with FDWs on such topics as love scams, maternity rights and protection

Such was the case of Gema, an Indonesian helper, who was found by an acquaintance while she slept in a park in Yuen Long at the height of winter with her seven-day-old son, Dian.

Gema was taken to PathFinders, which immediately took Dian to the hospital where he was confined for several days for emergency treatment because of an infection that developed in his legs.

“This happened because Gema was unlawfully terminated from her job as a foreign domestic helper,” the NGO said.

After the surgery, both mother and child moved into PathFinder’s shelter, where they were helped in getting Dian a birth certificate while Gema received counseling on her new role as a mother, and help prepare her for their return to Indonesia.

Kuma Chow, who heads the fundraising committee, said PathFinders has no government funding and relies only on charitable foundations and the private sector.

She said that if the targeted amount was not reached, they would have been forced to close, and the homeless women and babies they are caring for would have been referred to other shelters, many of which are already full.

“With nowhere to go and in a desperate state, they risk being taken advantage of, getting into involuntary relationships and taking up illegal work like drug trafficking or dishwashing,” she said.

“Such dangerous environments and social groups are unsafe for children and, if they were to get arrested or go to jail, the children would suffer even more.”

PathFinders is now looking for a new corporate sponsor because its previous supporter had reached its maximum duration of five years to sponsor a charity in line with its corporate social responsibility undertaking, Chow said.

The NGO said sponsors can still directly help babies and mothers who are in need through its 2020 “Bridge the Gap” campaign, which is raising funds for other critical services and its community center. 

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Mga beach na magandang puntahan

Photo: Environmental Protection Department\

Plano mo bang mag-beach sa day off mo ngayong Linggo?

Inilabas na ng Environmental Protection Department (EPD) ang grado ng iba’t ibang beach sa Hong Kong.

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Sa 38 na gazetted beach at isang non-gazetted beach (Discovery Bay, kung saan walang life guard), 12 ang may grading na Good (Grade 1), 15 na Fair (Grade 2) at 12 na Poor (Grade 3). Hindi lahat ay binuksan na sa publiko. 

Ang mga bukas nang Grade 1 beach (na may pinakamalinis na tubig) ay: Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach, Shek O Beach, Hap Mun Bay Beach, Hung Shing Yeh Beach, Stanley Main Beach, Trio Beach, Repulse Bay Beach.

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Ang mga bukas nang Grade 2 beach ay: Big Wave Bay Beach, Lower Cheung Sha Beach, Cafeteria New Beach, Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach, Pui O Beach, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Silverstrand Beach, Deep Water Bay Beach.

Ang mga Grade 3 beach ay: Golden Beach, Butterfly Beach, Lido Beach, Casam Beach, Silver Mine Bay Beach, Castle Peak Beach, Ting Kau Beach.

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Ayon sa grading system sa Hong Kong, ang grado ng mga beach ay depende sa taglay na e. coli bacteria sa tubig, kung saan ang pinakamalinis ay Grade 1.

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HK may stop home quarantine for OFWs as woman arrives with virus from Mla

By The SUN

Today's case is the 7th case in a week of someone arriving from Manila with the coronavirus 

A 39-year-old woman who just arrived from Manila tested positive for Covid-19 today, Jun 27, becoming Hong Kong’s 1,197^th case.

Records from the Centre for Health Protection shows the woman, likely a domestic worker, had stayed in the Philippines from Dec 23 last year until she arrived in Hong Kong yesterday.

She was taken directly from the AsiaWorld-Expo testing center to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kowloon for treatment. She was asymptomatic.

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The new patient is the seventh new arrival from the Philippines who tested positive in Hong Kong within the past week alone. Most of them were apparently FDWs as they didn’t have any listed address in the city.

But many of the new imported cases in Hong Kong involve residents arriving from Pakistan. In one day alone last week, 29 new arrivals from Pakistan were found infected, and two days later, 16 others also tested positive.

The big number of infected patients who test positive on arrival from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh has prompted the Hong Kong government to put them in quarantine centers pending the result of their Covid-19 tests.

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In the case of Filipino migrant workers, however, the practice has been to let them spend home quarantine with their employers. 

But with the recent spike in the number of newly arrived overseas Filipino workers who test positive on arrival, the government now says it may stop employers allowing the helpers to spend their quarantine in their homes.

Home quarantine rules: Filipino DHs may soon not be allowed to do this anymore

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said in an interview with reporters today that his office is in talks with the Department of Health to add a condition to the quarantine orders for FDWs that they are not suitable for home quarantine.

“Because we have seen in the last month, Hongkongers coming back from the Philippines have a 0.65 per cent infection rate,” he said.

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Using employment agency estimates that up to 10,000 domestic workers might arrive from the Philippines in the next few weeks, Law said that could mean an additional 65 new infections among them.

“If they are to be quarantined at home, then there will be a pretty high chance of them spreading the virus in the community,” Law said, but did not make reference to pre-quarantine tests made at the airport, which led to the early detection of cases among the new arrivals from Manila.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

Law ruled out putting up the migrant workers in quarantine centers, as what a group of employment agencies suggested last week. He said there will not be enough room in the quarantine facilities, but the Labour Department would provide employers with information on cheap hotels.

At present, Hong Kong has three quarantine centers which could accommodate up to 2,323 people, but this number will soon be reduced by more than half as the largest facility, the Chun Yeung public housing estate in Fo Tan, will stop operating as such in July.

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