FDH loses $10k in love & package scam

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The bundled US$100 bills that Joy's lover supposedly sent her

The trick was a very old one with just a bit of twist, but another Filipina domestic helper in Hong Kong has again fallen for it.

Joy, who declined to give her full name, had already sent HK $10,000 last Sunday, Jan 16, to a man who pretended to have sent her a box crammed-full of US$100 bills, but she was told to send $50,000 more, or the police would soon arrest her for money laundering.

Luckily, she turned to a world-wisely friend, Marilyn, who immediately advised Joy to stop doing the bidding of “Harry,” the man she had been chatting with online, and who had told her that he had sent her money but that it was held up in customs somewhere.

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Marilyn took over the chat with “Harry,” and asked for proof that a package had been sent to Joy. She also threatened to contact a lawyer.

But the person on the other end was not fazed, saying “You have only a few hours left, the custom officers will get you arrested when they get to their office.”

“Don’t blame me, I have told you and I have given you the information you needed. Thanks.”

Harry sent this photo supposedly of himself, to Joy

It was only after Marilyn told “Harry” to stop “scamming and harassing” Joy, and threatened to notify the authorities about the United Kingdom-registered number (+44 7436617620) that he was using that the man stopped threatening her friend.

Marilyn got Joy to immediately contact Hang Seng Bank to inform it about the two account numbers given by her online lover to which she was supposed to send the money. One is in the name of someone who sounded Chinese, and another to a Filipino man.

The bank, in turn, told them to report the incident to the police so they could cooperate in apprehending the culprits, especially those holding the accounts in Hong Kong.

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According to Marilyn, the scam happened after Joy somehow brought up her desire to build her own house in the Philippines during a chat with Harry, who sent her a photo supposedly showing him, along with a Cyprus-registered number: +357 95721014.

“Sinabi ni Harry na padadalhan siya ng pera na pambili ng bahay,” said Marilyn. (Harry told her he would send her money so she could buy a  house).

Soon, the man whose profile picture showed a bespectacled, clean-cut man with an engaging smile, told Joy he had sent her the money.

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He even sent her pictures of a thick wad of US dollar bills inside a box, as well as a video of money being put through a bill-counting machine.

These were the same photos and videos that had been sent to a number of Filipina domestic workers who were similarly scammed by men they met only online but are somehow still being used to victimize more of them.

Shortly afterwards, Harry sent an urgent message to Joy, telling her the box had been held up in customs and she needed to send $50,000 to get it released, otherwise, the police would come and arrest her for money laundering.

“Naghanap ng pera ang kaibigan ko, mabuti $10k lang ang nakuha niya, pero nung tinakot at binigyan ng ilang oras para maghanap pa ng $50k doon na ako tinawagan kasi sinabihan siya na ipapupulis siya,” said Marilyn.

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(My friend scampered to look for money. Luckily she managed to raise only $10,000, but when she was threatened and given only a few hours to look for $50,000 she decided to call me because she was told the police would be called to arrest her).

Harry gave a Hang Seng Bank account number in the name of a man surnamed Luo to where Joy should send money. Later, when she was threatened unless she sent more money, she was given another Hang Seng account in the name of a Filipino surnamed Ledesma.

Harry's threat, along with the bank details of R Ledesma

After taking over the chat, Marilyn threatened Harry that they had recorded all his conversations with Joy, and would forward them to the authorities.

This appeared to unnerve Harry, enough for him to revert to his previously solicitous tone in addressing Joy.

“Hello, honey. How are you? My lawyer is handling the case now,” he said in a string of messages.

“Send me those screenshot information that the diplomats sent to you…”

But after being warned and ignored repeatedly, Harry blocked Joy from his phone contacts, and also deleted the profile photo he was using.

Marilyn and Joy hope the matter will not end here. They want other Filipinas to know what happened so they will be more wary of engaging people they do not know or have not even seen in person, lest they also be scammed.

Needless to say, Joy is also hoping the bank would find a way to give her money back.

Untraceable case with Delta variant among 11 new Covid-19 cases

By The SUN

 

Chuang says they're 'very very worried' about the new Delta case

A residential building in Aberdeen has been locked down overnight, after health officials reported its first local case with the Delta variant in their daily press briefing today, Jan 16.

The case involving a 23-year-old woman who works at the Little Boss pet shop in Causeway Bay, was one of the preliminary positive cases of Covid-19 reported on Sunday.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said during the briefing that the case is causing concern that an unknown transmission of Delta is going on in the community at the same time as the more infectious Omicron variant.

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“There may be a Delta strain circulating, so it’s not only restricted to the Omicron cases we detected recently. So of course we are very, very worried if there are other cases of infections that have not been detected,” Chuang said.

“As for the source of her infection, we’re still investigating.”

Initial investigations showed the patient developed a cough on Jan 4 but did not seek medical help. The night before she went to have a hotpot dinner with a friend.

On Jan 5 she again had dinner with a friend, and on Jan 10 stayed overnight in a hotel in Wanchai before having another meal with friends. She had herself tested only when she started coughing and had a sore throat.

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Chuang again reminded the public to immediately seek medical help if they develop symptoms to stop the spread of the virus.

The CHP reported 11 new confirmed cases today, eight of them imported.

One locally detected case, that of a 74-year-old man living in City Garden, North Point, is linked to the dance cluster that started with a Cathay flight stewardess who infected family members after arriving from the United States.

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Two were classified as possibly import-related case. One involves a female aircraft cabin cleaner and the other, a Pakistani housewife who is believed to have been infected during her 21-day quarantine at Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei.

Chuang said genomic sequencing tests carried out at PolyTechnic University showed the case of the aircraft cleaner tallied with those from recent arrivals from Finland, United States and other places.

The case of the Pakistani housewife, on the other hand, is linked to those of five other guests who stayed in four different rooms on two separate floors at Silka Seaview.

Yuen says the virus must have spread in Silka when the guests opened their doors

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung who was among those who inspected the hotel this afternoon said the virus may have spread through the corridors when the guests opened their doors.

Including today’s new confirmed cases, Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally has gone up to 13,041.

CHP announced in a separate statement that starting tomorrow, it will conduct a special arrangement under which those who have finished the 14 days of quarantine at quarantine centre (except inbound travelers covered by Cap. 599E) will be tested for the virus. If they test negative, they will be allowed to leave the quarantine centre in a gradual and orderly manner.

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This means, those presently undergoing 21 days of quarantine will have their stay shortened for one to seven days. Afterwards, they will have to undergo self-monitoring at home for the remaining days of their original quarantine period.

“Though they will not be prohibited from going out during self-monitoring, they should monitor their health conditions, maintain social distance with other people and avoid social gatherings,” said the statement.

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“They are also subject to testing at a community testing centre on Day 19, counting from the last day of exposure to the case tested positive.”

 CHP also announced that passenger flight UO705 operated by Hong Kong Express Airways from Bangkok, Thailand, will be suspended for two weeks, or until Jan 29, after one of its passengers on Jan 14 tested positive on arrival and another failed to comply with boarding requirements.

Health officials suspect six cross-infections in Silka Seaview Hotel

By The SUN 

Experts believe the virus spread among six guests at Silka Seaview 

Hong Kong health officials said tonight, Jan 16, that they are investigating an apparent cross-infections among six inbound travelers who had spent their compulsory quarantine at Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei.

The investigation was sparked by the case of a Pakistani housewife who tested positive for Covid-19 with the Omicron strains four days after ending her 21-day quarantine at the hotel on Jan 10. She was one of 11 new confirmed cases reported today.

In its report released tonight, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said that it is investigating a possible link among cases 12891, 12893, 12895, 12981 and 12994 to 13045, which pertains to the Pakistani national.

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All of the patients in these cases stayed at Silka Seaview between Dec 20 and Jan 4.

Cases 12893 and 12895 both arrived in Hong Kong on Jan 2 and stayed in room 413. They both tested positive on Jan. 6.

Case 12994 arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 25 and stayed in the adjacent room, 414, on the same floor, and tested positive on January 10.

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According to CHP, genome sequencing done by the public laboratory of the Department of Health shows the three cases have highly similar genetic sequences, suggesting that they are “very likely to be epidemiologically linked.”

Meanwhile, case 12891 arrived in Hong Kong on Jan 4 and stayed in room 1205, and tested positive on Jan 6.

The person who stayed in the room with him, case 12981,was sent to a quarantine centre on Jan 8 and tested positive on Jan. 9.

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Lastly, case 13045 arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 20 and stayed in the adjacent room, 1206. She tested negative in all tests conducted during quarantine. After her discharge on Jan 10 she went home to Tung Moon House, Tai Hang Tung Estate, 83 Tai Hang Tung Road, Sham Shui Po. In line with regulations she got tested on Jan 13 at a community testing centre and the result was positive with a heavy viral load.

The CHP said genome sequencing on the three remaining cases have yet to be completed.

Following the results of the initial genome sequencing government experts conducted a site inspection of the hotel late this afternoon. They concluded that the air flows in the rooms and corridors may have caused the virus to spread from room to room.

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Based on the expert opinion, the CHP will order compulsory quarantine for 14 days on persons who had stayed in the rooms adjacent to and opposite to room 413 from Jan 2 to 7; and those  who had stayed in the rooms adjacent to and opposite to room 1205 from Jan 4 to 8.

Starting on Jan 17, Silka Seaview was used as a quarantine hotel for close contacts of cases who tested positive for Covid-19. As such, it stopped taking reservations from inbound travelers since Jan 12, and all those who were still checked in were moved to other designated quarantine hotels.

4 Filipinas arrested in police raid on unlicensed bar in Central alley

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Police photo shows the 4 Filipinas being taken away after their arrest

Four Filipinas are still being held for investigation after being arrested Saturday night during a police raid on an unlicensed bar in Fai Man Building 9-13 Li Yuen Street West.

According to a police report, the 32-year-old Filipina who was in charge of the establishment was arrested along with three other Filipina customers found drinking in the place.

The raid which happened at 7pm, was part of an operation code-named Fanwood, which targeted bars in the area.

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Under stringent anti-gathering rules that are in place until Feb. 3, bars are not allowed to open, while restaurants are prohibited from allowing customers to dine in after 6pm.

The police report said the woman who was in charge of the premises was arrested on suspicion of selling alcohol without a license, possessing unlicensed alcoholic beverages for sale, violating her visa conditions and violating the anti-gathering restrictions under Cap.599F.

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The three other Filipinas, aged between 29 and 35, were arrested on suspicion of drinking alcohol in a place without a liquor license and violating Cap.599F.

Under the Prevention and Control of Diseases regulation, a fixed penalty of $5,000 may be issued for anyone found guilty of gathering in restricted places. This is on top of other penalties that may be imposed for other violations.

“All arrestees are now being held for investigation,” said the police report.

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Seized during the operation were 1,645 bottles of alcohol, 12 plastic barrels and $400 cash.

Fai Man building which houses a number of pubs, karaoke bars and other businesses catering to Filipinos, is notorious for being the target of police raids aimed at flushing out illegal workers and  those engaged in illegal selling activities.

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Often, police would arrest a couple of Filipinos who were either engaged in illegal selling or had violated their visa terms by working there while on torture claimants, overstayers or foreign domestic helpers status.

Restaurants in North Point, Cheung Sha Wan under compulsory testing notice

By The SUN

4 dates and times are indicated for Cafe de Coral in MaxiMall, North Point

Several restaurants in North Point and Cheung Sha Wan are among 15 places put under a compulsory testing notice issued early today, Jan. 16, by the Centre for Health Protection.

These were the places visited by a number of people who tested preliminary positive, or were confirmed to carry Covid-19 with mutant strains linked to the Omicron variant.

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Among the preliminary positive cases were a female aircraft cleaner who lives in Tsing Yi and a Pakistani woman who tested positive with a heavy viral load, just days after completing her 21-day quarantine.

Also listed as a preliminary positive case is that involving a 74-year-old man who lives in City Garden in North Point. His wife was among a group of elderly women who danced together regularly in Victoria Park.

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Among the eateries he appears to have patronized on a regular basis are Cafe de Coral, Fairwood and those in the Java Road Market all located in North Point 

A couple of restaurants in Cheung Sha Wan and Tsing Yi are also on the list.

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Not included are the residential buildings of the cargo aircraft cleaner and Pakistani returnee which have been locked down overnight for mass testing of residents. 

They will all have to test a few more times afterwards in line with regulations concerning cases with mutant strains. 

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Close contacts of the confirmed cases will be sent to a quarantine center for 14 days  

The details of the latest CTN are here: https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/ctn_20220115.pdf

2 lockdowns ordered as HK's new Covid-19 cases dip to 5

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The 2 preliminary positive cases are suspected to carry the Omicron variant

Health officials ordered a lockdown tonight, Jan 15, on two residential buildings in Tsing Yi and Sham Shui Po where two females who tested preliminary positive for Covid-19 with the Omicron strains live.

The sources of their infection is still unknown.

They were among about 10 preliminary positive cases reported by the Centre for Health Protection earlier today. A total of five confirmed cases were also recorded, three of them imported and two with links to imported cases.

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The Tsing Yi resident is a 41-year-old cleaner of cargo aircraft at the Hong Kong International Airport. She lives in Wang Sin House, Cheung Wang Estate, 9 Liu To Road, Tsing Yi.

She tested negative during routine testing on Jan 8 and 11 and last went to work on Jan 14, when she tested positive for Covid-19 with a Ct value of about 20, indicating a heavy viral load. She is fully vaccinated with Sinovac.

The second is a 43-year-old woman who lives in Tung Moon House, Tai Hang Tung Estate, 83 Tai Hang Tung Road, Sham Shui Po.

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She arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 20, 2021 from Pakistan by flight EK384 and she tested negative at the airport. She spent her 21-day compulsory quarantine at Silka Seaview Hotel Hong Kong in Yau Ma Tei, during which all the results of her six tests were negative.

She moved to her house on Jan 10 and on Jan 14, she underwent another test at a community testing centre in line with regulations. The result was preliminary positive, with a heavy viral load. She had two doses of the Sinovac vaccine in Pakistan.

The CHP is now investigating the places they visited during the incubation periods and will conduct genome sequencing and compare them with previously detected cases in Hong Kong to find their infection sources.

Earlier, CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the two local cases reported today were linked to previous infections that were import-related.

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The first is a 74-year-old man who lives in Block B of Maple Gardens Phase 3 in North Point and is a family member of a man who works in Citic securities and had links with the so-called dance cluster in Causeway Bay.

He is the fourth person to contract the virus in the residential building, where experts say a vertical transmission had occurred between two separate flats.

The other confirmed local case is the 51-year-old female security guard at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre who was tagged as a close contact of a colleague with whom she shared meals.

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The first patient was found to have caught the virus from a brief encounter through a screened partition with an infected person who had stayed at the quarantine.

A Filipina domestic worker is among 3 imported cases

Among the three imported cases is a 36-year-old female domestic helper who flew in from the Philippines on Jan 5 aboard flight OZ721. She tested positive on her 8^th day of quarantine at the Regala Skylight in Tung Chung.

The others are both 21-year-old females who both tested positive on arrival at the airport on Jan 13. The first came by flight KE607 from United Arab Emirates via Korea and the second aboard flight SQ007 from the United States.

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They took Hong Kong’s total tally to 13,030 confirmed cases of which 410 are still undergoing treatment in various public hospitals.

Philippines urged to help stranded workers as Covid-19 cases hit 39k-mark

 By The SUN 

Rush for Covid jabs in Mandaluyong City, as the country hit a record 39,004 cases

A migrant workers group has called on the Philippine government to extend help to foreign domestic workers who have been left stranded by the new flight ban imposed on the country by Hong Kong.

“We want the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to step up and ensure that all stranded OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are given aid,” said Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chairperson of United Filipinos-Migrante and Bayan Muna Partylist in Hong Kong.

“Live up to your name! Ensure our welfare.”

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Her call came amid a widespread clamor for help from an estimated 6,000 Hong Kong-bound workers in the Philippines, many of whom have waited for months to leave because of limited quarantine spaces allotted to them in the city.

In an online interview with The SUN Thursday, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac said no immediate funds were available for those who have been stuck in the Philippines as a result of the flight ban.

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But Cacdac said he would relay the concerns of the workers to responsible officials.

"Idudulog ko rin po kay (Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III) at sa OWWA Board para tingnan kung may tulong na maibibigay."

Cacdac promises to look for funds for workers stranded by the flight ban

The ban on passenger flights from the Philippines which has now been extended for another fortnight, or until Feb. 4, means they will have to wait even longer.

While there is no corresponding ban on flights from Hong Kong to Manila, airlines would be less likely to fly this route because of low passenger volume, thus causing flight cancellations on this end as well.

Worse, the outlook for lifting the ban on the rescheduled date is bleak because of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the Philippines. Today, Jan 15, the country posted its third daily record high of 39,004 cases, which also raised the number of active cases to 280,183, the highest since the pandemic broke out two years ago.

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Pelaez said the government of President Rodrigo Duterte should be blamed for the unprecedented rise in the number of infected persons in the country.

“We want the Duterte government to (account for) this Omicron mess. We are worried for our families back home, now that the Omicron variant is wreaking havoc in the Philippines,” she said.

Pelaez said the spread of the highly infectious variant exposed anew the dismal health system and what it calls as the government’s “inept and militaristic” approach to solving the pandemic.

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She lamented the shortage of basic flu medicines, and the forcible isolation of the unvaccinated instead of encouraging them to take the jab.

“But it is even more alarming that the cases are reaching 30,000 in one day, with the hospitals full and healthcare workers exhausted to the bone,” Pelaez said.

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She said the government should focus more on mass testing instead of militarism; systematic contact tracing, not false promises; and aid, not negligence.

Govt cracks down on food hawking as part of anti-virus measures

By The SUN 

FEHD agents seize cooked food in pots and fresh meatballs peddled in Victoria Park

Foreign domestic workers spending their days off in their usual hangouts in Central, Causeway Bay and other public places in Hong Kong, will find government teams again enforcing social distancing and other anti-Covid rules this weekend.

This time around, they will be cracking down as well on illegal hawkers, especially those that sell food at migrant workers’ favorite haunts.

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Last Jan. 9, a similar operation resulted in FEHD (Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) officers arresting one person for illegally selling food in a public place near Victoria Park and seized abandoned articles that included fresh and cooked food.

Filipinos who hang out in Central also reported seeing the enforcement teams telling off workers who spread and shared food on the pedestrian underpass linking Chater Road and Edinburgh Place near City Hall.

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Experts have always said that the sharing of food in public gatherings is one of the key routes of virus transmission.

Govt agents stepped up the campaign after 3 Indonesian DHs were infected with Omicron

The government has been making repeated calls for FDHs to help in fighting Covid-19 which spiked this month and left three Indonesian FDHs positive for Covid-19, out of the 171 asymptomatic cases and two re-positive cases recorded since Jan.1.

In a press release today, the FEHD said: “The Government is highly concerned about the latest epidemic situation and strongly appeals to all sectors… including FDHs to fight the virus together.”

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It appealed to FDHs to “raise awareness of epidemic prevention, keep the environment clean and hygienic, and comply with the various anti-epidemic regulations and restrictions, including the requirements on group gatherings and wearing of masks.”

Teams that will roam the FDH gathering places will include not just FEHD and Leisure and Cultural Services Department – the agencies in charge of maintaining these public places -- but also the Hong Kong Police Force, Labour Department, and Immigration Department.

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“The joint operations started today and will continue tomorrow at various public places in Wan Chai, Central and Western, Mong Kok, Yau Tsim, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Sai Kung, near popular FDH gathering public places during weekends and public holidays,” FEHD said.

“During the operations, apart from arranging cleansing contractors to strengthen street cleaning services at the relevant spots, the FEHD also steps up patrols to combat littering and unlicensed hawking activities.”

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“In addition, promotional leaflets in multiple languages are also distributed by the FEHD to appeal to FDHs to maintain environmental hygiene and refrain from conducting unlicensed hawking activities.

“FDHs are also reminded by other government departments to comply with the regulations on mask-wearing and prohibition of group gatherings in public places,” it added.

The statement said that under the The Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G) and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I), violators may each be charged a fixed penalty of $5,000.