3 years for Pinays trafficking prostitutes to HK

HONG KONG - After a 10-day trial, a district court judge on Friday sentenced to three years in prison two Filipina women charged with trafficking persons into Hong Kong for the purpose of prostitution. Jennifer N. Balibat or Nicki, 28, was seen crying beside a stoic-faced Angelita David, 40, as Judge Susanna D'Almada Remedios read out her verdict before sentencing them. David, who was referred to in court as Ampy, only broke down in tears after the judge finished and left the courtroom. The two also received three months each for five counts of aiding and abetting their five Filipina victims, aged between 24 to 39 years old, to work here without valid employment visas, but all sentences will run concurrently. Vice Consul Val Roque, who heads the Assistance to Nationals section of the Philippine Consulate, welcomed the verdict, saying it will serve as a deterrence to those who traffic Filipinas into Hong Kong. But he regretted that those jailed for the offense are also Filipinos. “It is unfortunate that the culprits in this case are Filipinos as well. The Consulate will continue to visit them (in jail) and see whether they have any needs we can attend to." Judge Remedios found “no fabrications or collusion" in the court testimonies of the victims, whom she said were “honest and reliable witness." Much to the disappointment of Nicki’s counsel, Gordon Wong, who argued that the victims’ failure to include much of their evidence in their police statements spoke of their lack of credibility, Judge Remedios said that the lapse was “understandable." “I accept that they were still disturbed by what happened in the following days. I accept that they did not remember all the details," she added. The judge also found that there was “unambiguous evidence" that the women had come to Hong Kong as prostitutes and there was “irresistible inferences" that Balibat knew why the women were coming here. The judge also accepted prosecution counsel Edward Laskey’s submission that David’s evidence on the witness stand amounted to “admissions of guilt in respect of all the charges." However, the judge said that she didn’t give weight to David’s evidence when it conflicted with those of the victims’ or when she implicated Nicki as the “mastermind." She accepted that this was a “joint enterprise" so there was no need to differentiate their roles. “It is plain and obvious that D1 (Balibat) and D2 (David) brought the women to Hong Kong for prostitution," said the judge. She also pointed out that the seriousness of the case turns to the number of victims involved. She noted that there may have been other women involved who didn’t complain. The court also rejected the submission of David’s counsel, Peter Chow, that she could not be convicted because she didn’t do “some act or acts to enable these girls (to) work as prostitutes" such as introducing them to potential customers. “In fact, they don’t need to find customers for sex… just drinks," he said. “Prostitution was mentioned only as an option." Neither did the court accept that the only intention of the defendants was for the girls to buy air tickets from them on credit and profit from it. Five Filipinas took the stand during the trial and told the story of how a certain person named Loida in the Philippines, Ampy, and Nicki recruited them and brought them into Hong Kong as “entertainers… to work as prostitutes." They were told to pay Php60,000 for their air ticket, food, and hotel accommodations which the girls should pay by installment once they got to Hong Kong. But when they got here they were not given food, nor did they stay in a hotel. Their one-way tickets also cost only $800 apiece. The victims sought the Consulate’s help on Aug. 2 and reported the matter to the police days after. They have all returned to the Philippines after testifying in court. - Smiley Julve, GMANews.TV