A Filipino domestic helper stole at least HK$115,000 worth of jewelry in Hong Kong, claiming that she did it as she was burdened by debt she owed to her employment agency.
Before she could leave Hong Kong for the Philippines, Ma. Trina Ponteres, 43, was arrested at the Hong Kong international airport on May 27. Before the Eastern Magistrates’ Court, she later pleaded guilty to one count of theft.
“Her financial problem caused her to commit the present offense by selling these items,” Ponteres’ lawyer told the court on May 30.
The defense lawyer said the domestic worker had to pay a “heavy penalty” to her agency because she earlier terminated her previous contract, adding that she had already mortgaged her property in the Philippines, and the money she had still wasn’t enough.
“She is remorseful and hopes that the court could be lenient..[so she could] return to the Philippines to be with her husband and their 14-year-old child,” she added.
Ponteres was charged with stealing and then pawning several pieces of jewelry and other valuables that belonged to her employer. The crime was only discovered on May 24 when police investigation revealed that Ponteres pawned the stolen pieces of jewelry on October 11, 2015. The employer later paid for the HK$15,000 Ponteres got from the pawnshop, but the employer was unable to recover two items whose total value was HK$50,000.
Ponteres appeared briefly on Hong Kong Police’s wanted list until she was arrested before her departure from Hong Kong International Airport.
Ponteres reportedly first came to Hong Kong as a domestic helper in 1996. She returned in 2008 but terminated her contract only after 10 days after she became homesick. She then found another employer, who would be her future theft victim, and was employed for eight years.
Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming sentenced Ponteres to six months imprisonment, adding that she violated the trust her employer gave her.
“(The) facts of the case (showed) that the total value of stolen properties is (around) $115,000 to $117,000. Fortunately, some of the stolen items were recovered. Still, the victim suffered substantial loss of $65,000,” Judge Wan said, in a report by Hong Kong News.
While she had no previous criminal record in Hong Kong, Ponteres had no means to compensate the victim. And so, the only sentencing option was immediate imprisonment, the judge said. Magistrate Wan set the starting point for her jail time at nine months but, since she pleaded guilty, she was given a “one-third discount” and her jail sentence was reduced to six months.