A Filipino domestic helper who has worked in Hong Kong for 14 years has reportedly been jailed for nine weeks after she was found working in a Central restaurant.
The defendant, surnamed Magsano, was found guilty of breaching the conditions of her stay by Sha Tin Court Deputy Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan. A male co-defendant, who is also Filipino, was acquitted of the same charge.
So far, the case has only been reported by Hong Kong News, the largest Filipino publication in Hong Kong. According to that publication, officers from the Immigration Department arrested both defendants at a Filipino restaurant in World-Wide House on Feb. 19 for bagging takeaway lunchboxes and handing them to customers.
During the hearing at Sha Tin Magistrates’ Court, the prosecution claimed that eyewitnesses saw the defendants placing payment from customers into a bucket.
Magsano said in court that she was at the restaurant as a customer and ordered food when she arrived at 10:30am, but had not received her food by 11:45am. Initially, she claimed that there was a queue of customers also waiting for their orders, but later retracted the statement, and said she forgot about her food because she ran into some friends.
Immigration officers arrived at 11:45am and asked for Magsano’s ID, at which point she reportedly said she was doing odd jobs at the restaurant. When asked why she said this in court, the longtime domestic helper said she had been “startled” and “nervous”.
The male defendant, identified by Hong Kong News as Dionne, said he was only in the restaurant to eat and had handed a woman her lunch upon her request, but ended up giving out three orders as the restaurant’s exit was being blocked by customers.
The prosecution said Dionne had been issued a removal order by the Immigration Department, and should not have taken up employment.
Deputy magistrate Lam acquitted Dionne, saying that he was a credible witness, but found Magsano guilty and sentenced her to nine weeks’ imprisonment.
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