A 33-year-old Filipina domestic worker filed notice of an appeal at the High Court immediately after being convicted of stealing money from her employer.
Ana Liezel Berbana was sentenced to six weeks in jail on Thursday for stealing 1,700 renminbi (US$246) from her employer’s home in Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, sunwebhk.com reported.
Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan at Eastern Magistrates’ Court said the defendant’s claim that she was framed was unreasonable, as her employer Wong Man-nga had already given her a one-month termination notice.
The magistrate also said Wong was a credible and reliable witness. He believed the employer’s claim that she had left her bag containing 40, 100-renminbi bills in her bedroom on the afternoon of Dec 21.
Wong told the court earlier that after ordering the defendant to clean the bathroom in her bedroom, she discovered 1,700 renminbi was missing from her bag and called the police.
A police officer testified that he found the missing notes stuffed in a sanitary napkin placed in a plastic bag, and hidden in the pocket of the defendant’s jacket
The defendant told the court that she knew nothing about the money found in her jacket and claimed she had been set up by her employer.
After the verdict, defense lawyer Philip Ross immediately applied for bail for the defendant so she could file an appeal.
The magistrate granted the application but raised the bail money from HK$6,000 to $10,000.