Judge acquits Pinay accused of stealing $1,000

Kowloon City Magistracy

Saying she could not have opened the safety deposit box, a judge acquitted a Filipino domestic worker accused of stealing $1,000 from her employer in Kowloon City.

Deputy Magistrate Arthur Lam Hei-wei dismissed the theft charge against defendant Lian B.O. after the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that she stole two $500 bills from her female employer.

“The defendant is acquitted of the charge,” Judge Lam said in his verdict on January 14.

The prosecution had accused the Filipino domestic worker of stealing the two $500 bills from her employer between August 19 and August 21 last year.

The female employer told the court that she had noticed that some of her money had gone missing and so she wrote down the serial numbers of her Hong Kong dollar bills and put them in her safety deposit box.

A few days later, she had the defendant’s bags checked and videotaped the whole inspection. The domestic worker initially said that she owned all of the money in her bag.

But when the employer told her that she had written down the serial numbers of her HK dollar bills, the defendant changed her tune and became unsure.

The Filipino woman’s lawyer explained her client was “surprised and shocked” by her employer’s claim. The two $500 bills were later found in the worker’s belongings. The worker accused her female employer of framing her up.

Analyzing the evidence submitted by the prosecution, Judge Lam noted that the two $500 bills were supposedly kept in the employer’s safety deposit box and the prosecution failed to show how the domestic worker was able to open it.

“The (female employer said her) husband did not even know the code for (the combination lock),” Judge Lam said.

He noted that the safety deposit box could also be opened by a key but the key was with the female employer, who was not home when the alleged theft happened.

Lian cried and said thank you after hearing the judge acquit her of the charge.