Filipina Domestic Helper Steals Meatballs and Slippers in Hong Kong, Faces Employment Ban
Image credit to South China Morning Post
HK$800 – It was the total amount of fine that a Filipina domestic helper had to pay after eating meatballs worth HK$100 owned by her previous employer last year.
After that incident, she is facing another charge after allegedly stealing leather slippers and an Agnes B bag. Luckily, she walks free from it after prosecutor refused to pursue her case as she was hospitalized, according to reports.
The accused, Mildred Nilo Ladia, 40-year-old, pleaded guilty into theft but denied other accusations.
It was found out that her previous employer, Gekko Lan Suet-ying, already deducted an amount of HK$100 from her supposed HK$4,210 salary as a form of compensation from the crime she had committed. Lan reported the incident to the police last May 30. According to her, Ladia ate the meatballs which were stored in the freezer in her residence. Ladia later admitted into eating those meatballs.
According Theresa Low, the defense counsel, after being involved in multiple crimes in Hong Kong, she will never be allowed to work there again.
“The consequences of criminal conviction for my client are devastating. She will not be employable again in Hong Kong.” Said Low.
The defense asked the magistrate, Jason Wan Siu-ming to discharge the case but was later refused. It was found out that the nature of offence was serious as it is a breach of trust.
“Tremendous trust is placed on a domestic worker by her employer,” said Wan.
Fortunately, Wan refused to impose immediate imprisonment as the stolen items were just food items with low value. The compensation had already been done. A fine of HK$1000 will be imposed to settle the case.
She also added that her client greatly valued her job because she is the breadwinner of her family, she had three children, ages between seven and twenty.
It is said that Ladia worked for Lan since August 2015, when she first went to Hong Kong. She also worked in Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia as a domestic helper.
