Filipina helper acquitted of stealing ring from socialite employer

By Vir B. Lumicao

Chua Eh Fong gave police mere segments of a CCTV recording of the alleged theft

A Filipina helper was acquitted today, Jan 28, of a charge of stealing a tourmaline ring from her socialite employer who claimed it was worth $100,000. 

Liverty Narcelles, 35, wept openly and hugged her lawyer and former employer after Magistrate David Cheung gave his verdict. She had been held without bail since her arrest more than four months ago, and just two weeks after she started working for the employer.

Narcelles’ accuser, Chua Eh Fong (also known as Cai Yifeng) was not in court for the verdict. The employer is reported to be the wife of former ATV executive director Sheng Pinru.

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The magistrate said the prosecution failed to establish that the defendant was guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Cheung questioned in particular why Chua took three days to provide police a CCTV footage of the search she made of the defendant’s luggage at noon Sept 9 last year.

He said when the employer eventually gave the footage, it was only a 10-minute-long segmented recordings of events in the dining area that morning, instead of the unedited video footage leading up to the finding of the ring police had requested.

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Sources close to the case say the unedited video showed Chua watching Narcelles take out the contents of her suitcase for inspection, before suddenly bending down, then holding up the ring that was supposedly stolen.

A former helper at the employer’s sprawling townhouse at Regalia Bay in Stanley also said it would be next to impossible to steal anything there as there are CCTVs all over. Besides, she said Narcelles did not work long enough in the house to know where the employers’ valuables were kept.

After the hearing, Narcelles was led back by officers to the police holding area on the third floor of the courthouse. Reporters and her former employer who testified for her during the trial waited in vain for nearly an hour to talk to her.

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Officers in the holding area later said she had gone to the Immigration Department offices in Wanchai because her visa had run out. At about 6pm, Narcelles texted a friend to say she was still in Immigration but did not know what the officers were planning to do with her.

Tellez wants Narcelles to stay and press labour claims against her employer

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers which had been advising Narcelles, rushed to court, and then to Immigration, after hearing of the verdict.

“I want her to remain here because she still has claims against her employer,” Tellez said.

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Cheung returned the verdict nearly a month after a three-day trial in which Chua and the arresting officer testified for the prosecution. Narcelles also took the stand in her defense, while her former employer, Portia Cheung, testified to vouch for the helper’s integrity.

Addressing the court on Dec 31, Narcelles said she was sure there was no ring in her luggage when she packed it before going to bed at dawn on Sept 9, so she was shocked to find it there. She cried when a video segment showing the ring and other items on her palm was played back.

The defendant had worked for Chua for just two weeks when she was accused of theft and arrested.

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Asked by the defense lawyer how she came to know the ring was valued at $100,000, the helper said it was what the prosecution had told her and what the receipt showed.

Chua said in her evidence that she fired the helper, who she paid $6,000 a month, because she damaged some expensive silverware and a Versace tableware, and stained her costly clothes and bra during washing.

After the verdict, the defence lawyer showed reporters photocopies of a jewelry box with three gem-studded watches, a pair of diamond earrings and an encircled empty spot where the ring was supposedly stolen from. He also showed a photocopy of shots of the ring, which looked inexpensive.

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Cheung, who had vouched for Narcelles’ character when she gave evidence for the defense, said after the verdict that she decided to help her former employee because she knew she was honest and good.

“If I could, I would have rehired her,” Cheung said of Narcelles, who worked for her for two years. The employer, who was identified in court as a director of a Korean company, said the pandemic had caused her financial difficulties.

“I know her very well, she’s basically a straightforward and happy person. It’s not easy to be away from home and working,” Cheung said.

She said she offered Narcelles to stay in her home after her release “because of my good relationship with her – she’s not a person who lies.”  

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Don’t lie, OFWs in money laundering scam told, as more arrested

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Syndicate members used the Filipinas' ATM cards to launder money through their bank accounts

Two more Filipino domestic helpers have been arrested by police in connection with a money laundering scam in which migrant women were convinced to hand over their ATM cards for moving huge amounts of illicit money.

This was disclosed today, Jan. 27, by the Consulate, which said that all the six workers arrested so far had contacted the assistance to nationals section for advice regarding their predicament.

But Consul Paulo Saret, who heads ATN, said he could not confirm reports that 11 others had been arrested.

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He said two of the accused had gone to the ATN to fill up reporting forms, one was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport as she tried to fly out, and three had called but have not yet shown up.

He said earlier that two of the six were picked up by police in Tuen Mun and another two in Tseung Kwan O.

Saret said ATN staff had been advising the so-called “willing victims” to tell the truth and cooperate with the police investigating the scam to get hold of the perpetrators.

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He urged other workers who have fallen prey to the money laundering syndicate to contact the Consulate for advice.

One of those arrested lied to police about losing her ATM card

Earlier, two of the workers told The SUN that they were fired by their employers after learning of their involvement in the illegal operation.

The two, C.P. and M.N., said they were deceived into the scheme when they responded to an online offer of part-time jobs that would pay $2,000 or more a week.

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M.N. said she learned about that job offer from a friend who heard of their financial need and gave them a phone number to call. She and C.P. contacted the number and a Filipina said all they had to do was to open a bank account where their earnings would be paid.

The woman directed them to an HSBC branch where another Filipina helped them in opening accounts. The woman then collected the ATMs that were issued to them on the spot, saying the businessmen hiring them needed the cards for a week.

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On the advice of friends, one of the women told the police following her arrest that she lost her ATM.

The two workers said they were surprised to get online notices from the bank about unusual activity in their accounts, but when they told their Filipina contact about this, she told them to just delete the messages.

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C.P. said she panicked when police knocked on her employers’ door to arrest her. M.N. got scared upon hearing that her friend and a few others had been arrested since mid-January.

All the workers have been dismissed from work after their arrest and are now living in boarding houses, except for the one picked up at the airport who is now in detention, 

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Filipina DH filmed slapping and shaking boy’s head jailed 2 weeks

By Vir B. Lumicao

The estate in Kowloon City where the assault victim and his family live.

A 27-year-old Filipina domestic helper was sentenced today, Jan 27, to two weeks in jail by a Kowloon City magistrate after pleading guilty a fortnight ago to a charge of common assault for slapping her 5-year-old boy ward.

Ana Marie Ochavillo, single, stood in the dock without emotion as Magistrate Yu Chun-pong read the sentence.

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Yu said he was adopting a custodial sentence to send a clear message the offense must not be tolerated, especially since the victim was a child who was under the helper’s care. 

The magistrate said he gave a one-third discount to what should have been he sentence because Ochavillo admitted the offence at the earliest opportunity.

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Before the sentencing, the defense lawyer presented a psychiatrist report that certified the helper did not have any psychological disorder.

He also begged for a lenient sentence, saying the defendant had already been detained for more than two weeks, had pleaded guilty at the earliest instance, and that the offense was due to a momentary outburst for which she was remorseful.

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The sentence means Ochavillo had already served her sentence, as she had been in police custody since her arrest on Jan 11. Two officers from the Consulate went to the holding area after the sentencing to assist in her discharge.

Ochavillo was hired by her female employer, surnamed Yeung, in January 2019. She was about to finish her first contract and had already signed a renewal contract when the incident happened at the employer’s flat in Parc Regal, Homantin Hill, Kowloon City.

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According to court records, Yeung was awakened by her son’s cries in the living room at about 8:30am on Jan 11. She went out to check and the boy told her that the helper slapped him in the face and pulled his hair.

Yeung checked the living room CCTV and saw Ochavillo pulling the boy’s hair and shaking his head for about 2 seconds, then slapping his head once while feeding him. The mother reported to the police at 9:31am and the helper was arrested.

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The prosecution said during investigation, the defendant admitted the offense, saying that the boy was naughty. On Jan 12, she was charged in court where she pleaded guilty.

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Partial evacuation ordered for North Pt building as 60 new Covid-19 cases reported

By The SUN 

8 confirmed & 5 preliminary cases were found in Tung Fat Bldg in North Point

Thirteen residents of a 56-year-old housing block in North Point have been found infected with Covid-19, triggering a partial evacuation of the building.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said today, Jan 27, that eight people living in Tung Fat building on Kam Ping Street had tested positive, while five were found preliminary positive.

Chuang said there were eight affected flats, which are on different floors. However, seven face the same direction.

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Covered by the evacuation and quarantine order are residents of units six and seven of block C, where all the infected patients live. Experts say residents there share the same narrow light well, which could have caused the virus to spread vertically.

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung who inspected Tung Fat building earlier today said the ventilation system there is not good.

"If the residents don't open their windows while their exhaust fans are on, the heat wave will easily go up [the light well] and create vertical transmission," Yuen told reporters.

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He also noted that some of the residents had reported an odd smell in their toilets from time to time, and they believe this too, was coming from the light well.

“So we have reasons to believe there is a danger to residents of C-6 and C-7 if they continue to stay there,” said Yuen.

Chuang and Lau in today's Covid-19 press briefing

The coronavirus cases from the building were among 60 reported today, of which all but three were locally acquired. Of the 57 local cases, 21 were of unknown source, while the rest were linked to previous infections.

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The three imported cases were returnees from the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and the United States.

There were about 40 preliminary positive cases.

Among today’s local cases with unknown sources are six staff of Wing Ming congee shop in Hung Hom, four of whom are from the same family. A seventh preliminary positive case has also been detected there.

 

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Chuang said other staff will be sent to quarantine, and no customers have been found infected so far.

She urged everyone who had been to the congee shop recently to take a test, saying customers were at high risk, given the number of people found infected there.

Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority reported that two patients had passed away in the past 24 hours, including a 56-year-old woman who died shortly after testing preliminary positive for Covid-19.

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The woman with chronic illness was rushed to Kwong Wah hospital yesterday morning due to shortness of breath. She suffered a cardiac arrest, and had to be intubated. But after this, her heart rate picked up, so she was transferred to an isolation ward for treatment. Her condition rapidly deteriorated, however, and she died at 4:22pm.

The other casualty was a 67-year-old confirmed male patient who succumbed at 8:26am today at United Christian Hospital.

The deaths brought to 169 the number of confirmed patients who have passed away in public hospitals so far.

Meanwhile, a so-called “ambush lockdown” – or one for which no prior notice was made -was put into effect overnight on two streets in Yau Ma Tei. During the 11-hour lockdown, a total of 330 people were tested for Covid-19, and one positive case was uncovered.

A similar lockdown on an entire block of flats in Jordan was carried out during the weekend. More than 7,000 people were tested, and 13 were found to have the coronavirus.

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Covid-19 inoculations may start only by end of Feb

By The SUN 

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be given out first

Hong Kong’s mass vaccination for the coronavirus will be pushed back to the end of February due to procurement “hiccups” for the three vaccines it has already bought from various sources.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam made the announcement today, Jan 26, as she revealed that she had sought the Central Government’s help to secure supplies from the state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm during her visit to Beijing last November.

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“We have been very concerned about the supply of vaccines for Hongkongers because this is really the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lam said before her weekly Executive Council meeting, in explaining her quest for help from mainland authorities.

“(But) the three vaccines that we have advance-purchased so far all have a little bit of hiccup,” she said.

“At the same time, we have a desperate need for vaccination among high-risk groups and cross-border workers,” she said

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Lam’s government had secured a total of 22,500 doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac’s CoronaVac and AstraZeneca-Oxford University. However, the delivery of the vaccines had been delayed despite the advance purchase agreements.

“For the one that has been authorized by the secretary for food and health … the supply will only come by the end of February from Germany,” she said, referring to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

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This is the first vaccine approved for use in the SAR and a million doses are expected to arrive in the second half of next month, further pushing forward the planned start of the vaccination after the Lunar New Year, or around mid-February.  

The vaccine from Sinovac, which was initially expected to arrive later this month, has yet to be cleared for use as it has reportedly failed to submit enough data to the government. Thus, it appears to have been dropped from the government’s list for the time being.

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A statement released on the government’s website on Jan 21 said experts under the Centre for Health Protection had focused only on the BioNTech and Astra Zeneca vaccines for the initial round of inoculations.

Both vaccines should be taken in two doses each, and the same type of vaccine should be given to each individual.

Medical frontliners and the elderly are among the first to get the jabs

First priority for the jabs are residents and staff of care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities at the top of the list for getting the Covid-19 vaccine in Hong Kong.

Next in line are medical workers or those in essential services that are at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus, and residents aged 60 years and above.

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On third priority are persons with chronic medical problems aged between 16 and 59 years.

No mention was made of other residents not in the designated categories, indicating they are not likely to be included in the first round of vaccinations.

Two experts advising her vaccination program and anti-pandemic strategy, however, warned Hong Kong must wait for a third round of clinical data published in medical journals before rolling out mass inoculations.

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Prof Ivan Hung told a radio show this morning the third round of clinical data is the most important thing for adopting a vaccine. Sinopharm has yet to provide such a prerequisite.

“Without this information, it is difficult for the [vaccination] committee to vet and recommend its use. People’s health is the most important consideration,” Hung said.

Sinopharm has said that its vaccine is 70 percent effective, but has yet to publish any data in medical journals.

Researchers in Brazil, meanwhile, said they found the Sinovac jabs just around 50% effective, far lower than the published efficacy rates for the BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines.

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