Filipina fined $2,000 after stealing $5,000 from ATM

Eastern Magistrates' Court in Sai Wan Ho

A 50-year-old Filipina was fined HK$2,000 on Wednesday after she pleaded guilty to stealing cash from an ATM in Aberdeen.

D. Ellarda admitted before Magistrate Bina Chainrai at the Eastern Courts that she took HK$5,000 left behind by a prior HSBC ATM user on Dec. 23, 2019.

The ATM user then found out his bank account had a transaction amounting to HK$5,000. CCTV footage near the ATM showed that Ellarda took the money the ATM user had forgotten to take.

The Filipina was arrested by police on Aug. 21, where she admitted to stealing and spending the money.

In mitigation, the defendant’s counsel also presented before Chainrai a letter from Ellarda’s current employer, who said that her helper was a “trustworthy” and “kind-hearted” individual.

Ellarda is the sole provider to her elderly parents and her 93-year-old grandmother.