Pilipina na nagnakaw ng $194.8k na halaga ng alahas, kulong ng isang taon

 

Ayon sa hukom sa West Kowloon Courts wala na siyang maibibigay pang diskwento sa sentensya ng Pilipina

Isang taong pagkabilanggo ang hatol sa isang Pilipina ngayon (Sept. 26) matapos siyang umaming nagnakaw ng mga alahas ng amo niya na nagkakahalaga ng $194,800.

Nakinig lang si Cristina Estoya, 38 taong gulang, sa kasong binasa sa kanya sa West Kowloon Magistracy at nang tanungin siya kung inaamin nya ang mga paratang, sumagot siya ng “opo”.

Dahil sa pag-amin, binigyan ni Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han si Estoya ng 1/3 na discount sa 18 buwang kulong na dapat iparusa sa kanya.

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Ayon sa sakdal, ninakaw ni Estoya ang tatlong gintong pulseras, tatlong gintong kadenang pulseras, dalawang gintong singsing, isang gintong kwintas at isang singsing na may 1 karat na brilyante.

Nadiskure ng amo niyang babae na nawawala ang mga alahas niya habang nag-iimpake sa kanilang bahay sa New Haven sa New Territories, bago umalis na nang tuluyan sa Hong Kong at lumipat sa Canada.

Nang tumawag ng amo ng pulis at hinalughog ang mga gamit ni Estoya, hindi agad nakita ang nawawalang alahas.

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Pero kalaunan ay natagpuan nila sa pitaka niya ang 12 resibo ng sanglaan na may iba’t ibang petsa, mula Dec. 18, 2021 hanggang Aug. 24, 2022.

Ayon sa abogado ni Estoya, napilitan siyang magnakaw dahil nagkaproblema siya sa pera.

Isang kaibgan daw ang gumamit sa kanyang pangalan sa pag-utang ng $30,000 at umuwi sa Pilipinas, kaya naiwan siyang nagbabayad ng $3,000 buwan-buwan sa loob ng isang taon. Dagdag pa dito ang sarili niyang utang na $15,000 na binabayaran niya ng $2,000 kada buwan.

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Dito pa lang, ayon sa abugado, ay kulang na ang kanyang buwanang sahod, pero kinailangan pa niyang magpadala ng pera sa kanyang asawa at apat na anak.

Mga $30,000 lang ang nakuha niya sa pagsasangla ng mga ninakaw. Dahil matagal na niyang ginagawa ito at hindi niya matubos ang mga alahas, napaso ang kontrata ng karamihan sa mga sangla at naibenta na ng sanglaan ang ilang alahas.

Ayon sa abogado, nagsisisi si Estoya sa ginawa niya.

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Humingi ito ng sentensiyang hindi kulong, na ikinagalit ni Magistrate Heung. “Iyan ba ay magandang dahilan para hindi ikulong ang kliyente mo?” wika niya sa Inggles. “Isa kang propesyunal na barrister. Dapat bigyan mo siya ng  tamang payo.”

Idinagdag niya na sa isang nakaraang kaso, ang parusa ay walong buwan sa ninakaw na $70,000 lamang.

Itinigil ni Heung ang pagdinig sa kaso, at dininig ang iba pang nakapilang kaso, upang bigyan ang abogado ng isa pang pagkakataong makausap si Estoya at magsaliksik ng mga kasong katulad nito upang maging basehan sa dapat na parusa.

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Matapos madinig ni Heung ang lahat ng iba pang naka iskedyul na kaso, tinawag ulit si Estoya. Agad namang inurong ng kanyang abogado ang kahilingang hindi makulong ang Pilipina, at sinabi nitong ang mga kahalintulad na kaso ay may parusang pito hanggang 18 buwan.

Matapos niyang bigyan ng 1/3 discount si Estoya, sinabi ni Heung na wala siyang maibibigay pang pagpapagaan sa parusa.

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HK marks quarantine-free day as 4k more Covid cases reported

By The SUN

 

Many migrant domestic workers were among the first to enjoy quarantine-free arrival (RTHK photo)

There were poignant scenes at the Hong Kong International Airport today, as many residents who had stayed away for two-and-a-half years due to the city’s strict quarantine requirement, rushed to return and reunite with family members.

Hong Kong’s notorious hotel quarantine was lifted starting at 6am today, and a flight from Taiwan was deliberately delayed for four hours to allow its passengers to be the first to come in under the relaxed rules.

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Also scrapped was the requirement that inbound passengers must present a negative result for a PCR test taken within 48 hours of boarding their flights. In lieu of this, arrivals were allowed to self-test using rapid antigen test kits, and upload their negative result when filling their online Health Declaration.

However, they must still undergo a PCR test on arrival, and on days 2, 4, and 6 afterwards. But unlike before when the travelers were made to stay at the airport pending the outcome of their tests, they are now allowed to leave and wait for the result at home.

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Pictures taken at the airport earlier today showed the steel barriers that were set up previously to barricade in new arrivals, or herd them to the waiting hotel shuttles or designated taxis, being dismantled.

There were also happy faces all around, as new arrivals managed to breeze through immigration and the bag claim in a matter of minutes. Airport staff who kept watch on passengers amid the most trying times of the pandemic were also seen happily taking pictures to mark the end of their grueling tasks.

Airport staff were jubilant on ending some of the most trying jobs during the pandemic (Ming Pao photo)

But the local infection tally continued to rise, with a total of 4,034 additional Covid-a9 cases being reported, including 188 that were imported from abroad.

Twelve patients with Covid were reported to have died yesterday, raising the toll in the fifth wave to 9,915.

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Health officials expect the surge to ease some more as the more transmissible strain of the Omicron variant, BA.4/5, now make up 86.1 percent of the cases, suggesting a waning of the infection.

Among the cases reported today were 18 medical staff at the intensive care unit of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin. The cause of the outbreak is still being checked.

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A statement from the Hospital Authority said two staff first tested positive on Sept 23, and follow-up checks in the past three days showed an additional 16 staff were also infected.

The affected staff have taken sick leave and are undergoing isolation, while the ICU and related areas in the hospitals have been thoroughly disinfected.

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A total of 2,039 Covid patients are now receiving treatment in public hospitals. Among them, 41 are critically ill, including 15 who are in ICU, while 43 others are in serious condition.

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Passport-less Pinay who overstayed 18 years ago back in court

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

The Filipina's real identity is still being established even after she admitted overstaying since 2004

A Filipina tourist who does not have a passport and whose identity could therefore not be verified, was back in Eastern Court today, Monday, for another hearing of an overstaying charge laid against her five years ago.

The case of the accused who goes by the name Emelita Arista, 61, was found to have overstayed her visa as a tourist for 13 years when arrested in February 2017 for an unrelated charge of theft, appears to continue to baffle court officers.

Prosecutors told Magistrate Peter Law that no result was reached in the hearing of her case at the High Court last Friday, Sept. 23, and asked for an adjournment.

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Law approved the application and adjourned the case to Dec 28 this year, and extended Arista’s bail of $1,000 under the same conditions.

Back on Mar 11, 2017, when Arista was sentenced to four weeks in jail on a shoplifting charge, Magistrate Bina Chainrai was incensed when told that the second charge of overstaying could not be disposed of yet because the Filipina had applied for non-refoulement.

At the time, Arista claimed that a nephew of hers in the Philippines was threatening to kill her, so she had asked not to be sent back home.

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But Chainrai got upset on hearing this, saying the Filipina had abused the system by applying for non-refoulement immediately after she was arrested in February 2017, for the thefts.

“After the defendant was arrested in 2017 only did she become an asylum-seeker?” Chainrai asked angrily then.

“In this situation, the prosecution must revisit her case. If somebody overstays for 13 years and applies for asylum after being arrested, it is an abuse of the system, especially when there are so many others with more valid reasons,” she added.

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Though Arista was ordered jailed immediately, she was allowed to post bail after serving her short sentence while awaiting the outcome of her torture claim.

During the earlier hearing, prosecutors said Arista was not detected as an overstayer earlier as Immigration authorities could not determine her true identity and the exact date when she came to Hong Kong because she had no passport.

But they earlier said the Filipina had come in on a visitor’s visa, and did not leave despite being told she could stay only on or before April 10, 2004.

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When Chainrai asked Arista if that was her first visit to Hong Kong, she said no, saying she had worked here as a domestic helper for six years before going home. But she confirmed she came to Hong Kong as a tourist in 2004.

It was not made clear how she lost her passport.

Her overstaying offence came to light only on Feb. 19, 2017, when she was caught trying to sneak out of a Wellcome supermarket in Quarry Bay after stealing three bottles of lotion and three cans of luncheon meat.

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She was first taken to court on Feb 21, 2017 and charged with one count of theft and one count of breaching her condition of stay.

She pleaded guilty to the theft charge and was sentenced on Mar 11 of the same year. She should have been arraigned on the immigration breach the following month, but that was halted by her non-refoulement application.

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Restos call for relaxing restrictions as Covid cases drop below 4k

By The SUN

 

Restaurants want to sit more people together and for restrictions on their opening hours removed

Health authorities reported an additional 3,897 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, of which 117 were imported.

The new tally, which was reported in a government press statement, was down sharply from the 5,190 recorded on Saturday.

Separately, the Hospital Authority reported 10 patients with Covid who passed away.

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As of this morning, a total of 2,066 patients are being treated in public hospitals. Among them, 39 are critically ill, including 13 who are receiving intensive care, and 40 are in serious condition.

Meanwhile, five groups representing the catering industry called on Chief Executive John Lee  earlier today to ease Covid restrictions on restaurants.

In a letter, the groups asked that the maximum number of people allowed to sit together in eateries to be raised to 12 from the current 8, and for the scrapping of the 120-people limit for banquets and the restrictions on opening hours.

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They also asked for the lifting of the ban on live shows and other related restrictions in catering premises.

They warned that more restaurants and bars would close down and more people sacked from their jobs, if the restrictions are not eased soon.

"The epidemic restrictions on catering businesses have remained the same since a round of easing in May, and residents' willingness to spend in restaurants have not been recovering," they said in their joint letter to the CE.

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Apart from the decline in patronage, they said restaurant owners have been hit by rising costs due to inflation that they are having a hard time keeping their businesses running.

With the easing of the travel restrictions, they fear a bigger decline in their business by Christmas, as people could just opt to travel abroad to celebrate, instead of having to cope with local regulations on masking and public gatherings.

"The catering industry may face an unprecedented critical situation, a new round of severe winter," the groups said in their letter.

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Those who made the appeal were the Association of Restaurant Managers, the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, the Institute of Dining Professionals and the Hong Kong Japanese Restaurant Association.

Separately, Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau said in a TV interview that officials are studying whether local social-distancing measures could be relaxed soon, amid the decline in infections.

But he ruled out a further easing of regulations on inbound travelers, saying Hong Kong must keep out new Covid variants that are emerging overseas.

While mandatory hotel quarantine has been scrapped, along with the negative PCR test result prior to boarding a flight to Hong Kong, travelers are still required to undergo several Covid tests on arrival, and during the next seven days.

On the first three days upon arrival, travelers will also be given an amber code, which prohibits them from entering high-risk places such as restaurants, churches, hair salons, gyms and other sports facilities.

Lo said that this is because the infection rate among new arrivals is around three percent, compared to one percent locally.

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Super typhoon Karding, magdamag na rumaragasa sa Gitnang Luzon

 (The SUN)

    Ang itinatayang dadaanan ng super typhoon Karding o Noru (HK Observatory photo)

Rumaragasa sa Gitnang Luzon ngayong gabi ang super typhoon Karding (international code name Noru) na may dalang hangin na 185kph na bumubugso hanggang 225kph at malakas na ulan na nag-aamba ng baha at paninira sa mga pananim, ari-arian at mga kalsada sa pinakamalaking pinagkukunan ng pagkain sa bansa.

Maaga pa para malaman ang sinapit ng mga nakatira sa kasalukuyang dinadananan ng bagyo -- Metro Manila, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Aurora, Rizal, at hilagang Quezon -- matapos ito unang tumama sa isla ng Polilio nang bandang 5pm kanina.

Itinatayang lalabas ng bansa si Karding sa Masinloc, Zambales bukas ng umaga.

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Ayon kay DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, sa panayam sa ABS-CBN, kahapon pa nagsimula ang pagpapalikas ng mga 2,500 na pamilyang nakatira sa mga bahain at mabundok na lugar sa Cordillera Administrative Region, National Capital Region, Region 3 at Region 5, upang makaiwas sa sakuna.

Hindi mararamdaman ng Hong Kong ang supertyphoon, na may international name na Noru, hanggang Miyerkules kapag nasa gitna na ito ng South China Sea papuntang Vietnam, sa pamamagitan ng bugso ng malakas na hangin.

Ang ulan sa Hong Kong na magsisimula sa Martes, pagkatapos na isang mainit na Lunes, ay hindi manggagaling sa bagyo kundi sa northeast monsoon mula sa karagatan na hilagang silangan ng China, ayon sa Hong Kong Observatory.

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Si Karding ang ikatlong supertyphoon na pumasok sa Philippine Area of Responsibility sa sa loob lamang ng nakalipas na tatlong linggo; sumunod ito kina Henry na tumama noong Aug. 31 at Josie noong Sept. 17.

Sundan ang pinakabagong abiso sa bagyong Henry, na umabot sa pinakamataas na Signal No. 5 ngayon, sa https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tropical-cyclone/severe-weather-bulletin.

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MDWs make final pitch for $6,014 minimum wage

By The SUN

 

A Labour Dept representative accepts the workers' petition after the protest

Migrant domestic workers made their final Sunday pitch for their minimum salary to be raised to $6,014, before the Hong Kong government decides by month’s end on what the new wage level should be.

Four MDW groups took turns to speak outside the central government offices at Tamar this morning, to call on the government to raise their salary from the current $4,630 to what they call a “living wage.”

The groups are also asking for the food allowance of those who are not provided food by their employers to be raised to no less than $3,023.

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Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, spokesperson of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said they have been asking for this salary increase for nearly three years now, but because of the pandemic, their wages were instead frozen.

“This amount is not really big and it’s been a campaign of AMCB for three years now,” she said. “We believe that after three years we deserve to live decently in Hong Kong.”

Pelaez pointed out that while permanent residents and new arrivals in Hong Kong were given financial aid to cope with the economic fallout from Covid-19, MDWs were excluded. Thus, they had to dig deep into their own pockets to ensure they remained healthy and fit so they could continue doing their jobs well.

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She also said that having made to work 16 hours each day on average, especially when their employers and family members were told to stay indoors because of surges in the infection, MDWs deserve to be rewarded now.

But she said she is optimistic the Hong Kong government would do right by MDWs by granting their request for a salary increase this time.

“I am really, really hopeful and optimistic that the Hong Kong government will give what we are asking for, ” she said.

The groups observed social distancing during their protest outside the Central Govt Offices in Tamar

Another speaker, Cherry Cataluna of the Filipino Migrant Workers Union, chided the HK government for not recognizing the sacrifices made by MDWs at the height of the pandemic.

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“During the pandemic, MDWs continued to work despite the threat to their own health, but this effort has not been appreciated,” she said.

Cataluna also pointed out that even MDWs have to cope with the financial hardship caused by the pandemic because they spend part of their salaries for public transportation and buying food and other necessities on their days off.

The speakers also included Thai and Indonesian migrant workers, and each group had four members who stood together to hold up banners in compliance with the restrictions on public gathering.

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The protest ended after a Labour Department representative accepted a signed petition outlining the migrant workers’ demands.

The new MAW has traditionally been announced by the government at the end of September, for implementation in October each year.

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