Excluded from Labour Department's Proposal
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HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK Page 12 GRIEVING. Family The No.1 Foreign Newspaper Vol.XVII No.374 July 1, 2017 and employers of a domestic worker Excluded from Labour Department’s proposal: who perished in an accident turn emotional as they FDWs slam work pay tribute to him. hours scheme Page 24 OPENING. David Chen, founder and CEO of global brand Kata, leads the opening ceremony of Kata’s third store in Singapore. Page COLOURS everywhere. Ethnic minorities perform during the “Celebrate Colours” program as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the establishment 28 of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (story on page 24). BUZZING. ‘Mulawin By Cheryl M. Arcibal working hours, saying the step affirmed the “nature of work” of the live-in domes- ion of Domestic Workers in Hong Kong vs. Ravena’ is one of Hong Kong’s “total disregard” of their tic workers and its “socio-economic ram- expressed their disappointment and anger MIGRANT domestic workers’ groups slave-like conditions. ifications”. over the proposal. two Filipino shows slammed the Labour Department’s pro- The LD, however, defended the exclu- Leaders of Asian Migrants’ Coordinat- Turn to page 14 topping social media. posal that excluded them from “contract” sion of MDWs from its proposal, citing ing Body and the Progressive Labor Un- PUBLISHED BY HK PUBLICATIONS LTD. TEL: 2851 1766 2 NEWS July 1, 2017 HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK FDH steals jewels to pay for kin’s meds By Cheryl M. Arcibal third to 10 months. magistrate was giving the sentence. The defendant, according to her duty The prosecution alleged that between A Filipino domestic helper was sen- lawyer, incurred a $40,000-debt from a August 2013 and May 31, 2017, the de- tenced to 15 months in prison for stealing financing company after her grandfather fendant stole $300 from a lai see red $162,000-worth of jewels and cash from was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. packet, and jewels namely seven pieces her female employer in their home in Sha- “This is a very serious breach of trust of bracelets, one pair of earrings, seven tin. case,” said Judge To. pieces of necklaces, one ring, two pieces After E.A. Perdido’s guilty plea, how- The 39-year-old Perdido, who has a hus- of wrist chains, and pendants. ever, Acting Principal Magistrate Joseph band who is a farmer in the Philippines, The total value of these items was To Ho-shing reduced the sentence by one was seen crying in the dock while the $162,000. The 41-year-old employer of the Fili- pina had put these items inside a locked cabinet in her bedroom, and the key of the Shatin Law Courts Building cabinet was in a box placed on a desk. At 9 a.m. on May 31, the employer Hong Kong, it was learned that some of “Her salary was not enough for medical found that six red packets containing $300 the jewels were pawned between October expenses. She owed a debt of $40,000 to and pieces of jewelry were missing from last year and April this year. a a finance company, and she still had to the cabinet. The employer paid to recover some contribute $1,000 to $1,100 to her family,” Asked by the employer, Perdido then jewels, whose total value were $128,000, the lawyer said. admitted that she stole the case and the but $34,000-worth of other items were not He added that about two-thirds of the jewelry. The defendant also produced four recovered. stolen items were recovered by the de- pawnshop tickets and told her employer Mitigating, the duty lawyer said the de- fendant’s employer. that she pawned the jewels. fendant has two sons, aged 18 and 11, and In giving the sentence Judge To, howev- The employer then called the police and one daughter in the Philippines. er, said he also considered the total value at 10:55 a.m., the defendant was arrested. Monthly, she contributed $2,000 to the of the stolen items, and said he was adopt- Upon search, 12 other pawnshop tickets family, and after the defendant’s grandfa- ing a 15-month starting prison term for the were found. ther was diagnosed with cancer, “the ex- defendant, but reduced it to 10 months. Upon checking in all pawnshops in penses increased”. New mother pleads guilty to drugs case By Ally Constantino Kowloon City Courts Magistrate Ve- when the latter’s case was called for ronica Heung Shuk-han called for a mention. A Filipino woman who recently gave background report and a drug addiction The duty lawyer said the defendant birth has pleaded guilty to a drug charge. treatment center report before sentenc- gave birth on May 8 while in detention. A.D. Bugayong on June 16 admitted ing the defendant. The prosecutor, meanwhile, said the to possessing 5.6 grams of shabu when “I see that she’s carrying a baby,” defendant had a clear record. she was searched by police officer on Judge Heung said in court after seeing Judge Heung adjourned the case for May 4, 2017. defendant with the tiny baby in the dock sentencing on June 30. HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK July 1, 2017 3 4 NEWS July 1, 2017 HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK 2 Pinoys fined over stunning devices By Ally Constantino was arrested on June 5 at the HKIA and Philippine authorities have repeatedly knives, and knuckle dusters, are consid- Hong Kong Police vowed strict enforce- was found to be in possession of a stun warned overseas Filipino workers against ered as “arms” under the Firearms and ment of the law prohibiting unlicensed TWO Filipino men were caught with stun gun. The other person, a pastor, was ar- carrying stun guns, bullets, knives, and Ammunition Ordinance of Hong Kong. weapons, even those for personal protec- guns in separate incidents at the Hong rested on June 18. Priscillo G. was also other objects or devices that can be viewed “Their unlicensed possession is, upon tion, in the city. Kong International Airport. found with a stunning device. as ‘threatening’ when visiting or passing conviction, punishable by a fine of Sources from the Philippine Consulate PCG officials said the two Filipinos through Hong Kong. HK$100,000 and/or a maximum sentence General told Hong Kong News, the first were fined by Hong Kong courts and were Stun guns and other devices, such as of 14 years imprisonment,” the PCG re- arrested person was R. Hernandez, 45. He then deported to the Philippines. tear gas, bullets, extendible batons, flick port said. “The Hong Kong authorities are particu- larly strict with the enforcement of said Ordinance. All hand-carried and checked luggage of passengers are subjected to security screening in the terminals,” the report added. In February 2016, a news report said Stun Gun HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK July 1, 2017 5 6 NEWS July 1, 2017 HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK Pinay cleared of breach of condition By Ally Constantino Department observed her washing a plate doing odd jobs at the La Piazetta. called his colleagues to the restaurant and of gas in the morning. and helping out in the kitchen of her em- The prosecution charged that Norma two minutes after, his colleagues came to Norma also testified she asked the res- A Filipino domestic worker was tried and ployer’s Italian restaurant in Central in was employed at the restaurant after she the restaurant. taurant’s chef to prepare the food for her acquitted of breach of condition of stay at February. was seen to have washed some plates, and At 12:25 p.m., officers from the Immi- male employer, but the latter was busy so the Shatin Courts on May 23. Deputy Magistrate Tsz-kan Lam said then was also seen holding a frying pan gration Department arrived and checked she waited. Norma B. N. was charged with the of- the prosecution failed to prove beyond and put its contents on a plate. the documents of the people at the scene, While waiting, and seeing that the kitch- fense after an inspector from the Labour reasonable doubt that the defendant was At 12:21 p.m., the Labour inspector and the defendant was arrested. en was busy as it was lunch time, she de- In her evidence, Norma said she was at cided to wash some plates and hand the the restaurant because her employer want- chef the plate. ed to eat a full-course meal. She also said she took some plastic She said she would be preparing the containers to put the food and the special salad, steak, and dessert at the restaurant sauces her employer would be preparing because she was informed their flat ran out for the restaurant. Has POEA restored EA’s license? By Cheryl M. Arcibal HAS the Philippine Overseas Employ- ment Agency reinstated the cancelled li- cense of a recruitment agency? This question cropped up after it was revealed that Findstaff Replacement Ser- vices Inc. could be searched again on the A June 28 screencap of POEA’s database of the POEA whose status indi- database shows Findstaff’s status. cates it has a “valid license”. Its license is valid from Oct. 3, 2016 to censes were cancelled owing to “unethical Oct. 2, 2020. recruitment practices” and “violations of In 2015, the POEA included Findstaff Philippine recruitment laws and regula- among 55 employment agencies whose li- tions”. 3 Filipinos seek to stay in HK THREE Filipino women have been separately As for Marilyn’s case, the prosecutor said charged with breach of condition of stay at the he was advised that the Legal Aid Department Shatin Magistrates Courts.