FDH fined $1,500 in shop theft

A Filipino domestic helper in Ma On Shan was fined $1,500 after she came out of a supermarket without paying for around $120 worth of goods.

The helper claimed she had to go out of the store because she saw another domestic worker who owed her a $1,000 loan.

Sha Tin Magistrate Ho Chun-yiu on February 16 found Teresita P.S. guilty of theft, said her claims were “incredible and illogical,” and ordered her to pay a fine of $1,500.

“The defendant was not in a hurry at all. The CCTV footage showed that she was walking and leaving in a leisurely manner,” Ho said.

Teresita did not pay for $117.8 worth of carrots, lemon, apples, coconut milk, talcum powder, yogurt, jelly, and chewing gum.

The prosecution said the incident happened at around 12 p.m. on October 13, 2015 at the Taste supermarket in Ma On Shan Plaza.

Teresita had the goods inside a red recycling bag when she filed at the cashier but paid only for a bottle of Coke.

She then walked out of the store but the anti-theft alarm went off and a security guard caught her before she could leave.

Her lawyer, barrister Sebastian Hughes, noted that she had enough money with her—a total of HK$1,649—to pay for the goods. Teresita said she had to get out of the store immediately because she had seen a fellow Filipino, named Claudia, who owed her $1,000.