Top 12 most talked about Pinoy Abroad crime stories in 2012

It was unfortunate that in 2012, some Filipinos figured in crimes abroad, including a Fil-Am who allegedly plotted to join terrorist group al Qaeda and Taliban militants to train in Afghanistan. This article compiles some of the controversial crime-related stories published in Pinoy Abroad last year. It is important to note, however, that under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, all suspects are considered as innocent until proven guilty. (1) Vietnam sentences 61-year-old Pinay drug courier to death Vietnam has sentenced a 61-year-old Filipina to death after she was caught smuggling the illegal drug methamphetamine into the country, a court clerk said in October.       Amodia Teresita Palacio was arrested for possession of more than five kilogrammes (11 pounds) of the drug in April at a Hanoi airport, the clerk told AFP.       She was found guilty of repeatedly entering the country from Thailand to smuggle drugs, the clerk said following Tuesday's trial.       Communist Vietnam's drug laws are among the toughest in the world and anyone found guilty of possessing more than around half a kilogramme of heroin faces the death penalty. Vice President Jejomar Binay has said he will help seek Palacio's acquittal. Her family had earlier alleged that Palacio was tricket by her recruiter into becoming a drug courier. (2) Fil-Am terror suspect, two others indicted in California Filipino-American Ralph Kenneth De Leon and two other men accused of plotting to join up with al Qaeda and Taliban militants for training in Afghanistan were indicted in California in November, a move that could allow prosecutors to move to trial more quickly.       However, the four-page indictment, returned by a grand jury in Riverside, offered few details beyond those contained in a criminal complaint filed earlier this month against the men, all US citizens or permanent residents.       The indictment charged De Leon, 23, Miguel Alejandro Vidriales Santana, 21, and Arifeen David Gojali, 21, with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, the same charge contained in the complaint.       The filing of the indictment allows federal prosecutors to skip a preliminary hearing in which they would lay out their case and a judge would determine if there was enough evidence to merit a trial.     The men each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The three have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. (3) Pinoy 'friend' admits killing Pinay found dead inside her luxury car in UAE A Filipino "family friend" admitted to killing a Filipina whose body was found inside her luxury car in the Sharjah area in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in early September.     Ricardo Bechavez confessed to the killing of 51-year-old businesswoman Lorna Lim Varona, the news site Khaleej Times reported. On September 2, police investigators informed Lorna's husband Pablo that Bechavez, arrested the day before, had confessed to the crime.     The day before, the police found Varona's body in a pool of blood inside the trunk of her Jaguar abandoned near Industrial Area Number 11 in Sharjah, a week after she went missing. (4) Pinoy in New York stabs wife to death before jumping off train station A Filipino Queens man stabbed his wife to death before killing himself by jumping 50 feet off an elevated subway train station in August.       Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told a press conference that Amis Cale, 41, apparently attacked his wife Jennifer Cale, 37, inside their family’s home on 39th Place in Sunnyside around 8 a.m. during an argument.       According to Kelly, the couple’s 19-year-old daughter woke to her mother’s cries for help and found her mother’s body soaked in blood and her throat cut in the kitchen area, with her father still standing over the body.       Amis Cale then fled the third-floor apartment before his daughter sprinted out of the building and started screaming for help, police and witnesses told the New York Daily News. Reports said Amis Cale then ran to the nearby No. 7 line of the subway station on Lowery Street, and jumped 50 feet off the elevated tracks landing on the corner of Queens Boulevard and 41st Street. A love triangle was suspected for the reason behind the incident. (5) Pinoy priest in New York kills self over sex scandal A New York-based Filipino priest named in a multi-million lawsuit in 2008 filed by an alleged female lover took his own life in April during a visit to the Philippines, according to an article by the Filipino Reporter.       Fr. Elvis Elano reportedly found it too much to bear after his family and community “shunned” and “despised” him over an alleged seven-month sexual liaison with a woman that resulted in the filing of a $25 million suit against him and his Queens parish.       In a suicide note dated April 11 and addressed to his sister, Elano reportedly sought the forgiveness of the people he offended before hanging himself in his native Tabaco City in the province of Albay.       He reportedly flew to the Philippines in October last year to visit his ailing mother.       Elano’s attorneys, Filipino-American Tamara del Carmen and her partner Yovendra Mangal, confirmed to the Filipino Reporter their client’s death. (6) Three Pinay maids testify in Ambassador Primavera's sex harassment complaint In November, three Filipina former maids of embattled Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Shulan Primavera claimed that although they did not witness the alleged molestation of their fellow Filipina maid “Mabel,” they said it was possible. The three maids told a DFA fact-finding team that they noticed that Mabel seemed to be the favorite of Primavera, who arrived in the Philippines that month. The Ambassador has repeatedly denied the claims. In a written testimony provided to GMA News by her lawyer, Mabel said she was molested by Primavera thrice. Primavera, however, denied accusations that he molested Mabel, a 28-year-old single woman. “I wish to assure you that I am innocent of these charges that were hurled against me,” he said. (7) Fugitive Pinoy priest in pornography scandal surrenders, repatriated to US A fugitive priest wanted in the United States for more than a year for possession of child pornographic materials surrendered to Philippine officials in December and went back to the US to face the charges against him. According to a report on the Iloilo-based news site The Daily Guardian, Father Lowe Dongor, fled the US and returned to the Philippines in 2011 but turned himself in to the National Bureau of Investigation after months of negotiations. Dongor, 36, had fled the US in October 2011 after entering a “not guilty” plea on charges of possession of child pornography. Dongor, who claimed to be as “poor as a rat,” had said he is ready to face the charges against him. “I have to, and ready to pay for the terrible mistakes I committed to my God, my Church, my community, my family and myself. I wish I can change things and go back to my priesthood for that is what I have been dreaming of since I was six years old,” he told The Daily Guardian. (8) Pinay maid in UAE may face death sentence for 'sexually abusing' employer's children In December, it was reported that a Filipina housemaid in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in danger of facing the death sentence after being accused of sexually abusing her sponsor's children. The Filipina was arrested after her sponsor claimed that she abused his children, including his one-year-old daughter, according to a report of the news site Gulf News. However, the Filipina, 36, denied the allegations against her. She was accused of having sex with the sponsor’s eight-year-old son, and forcing the boy to have sex with his 12-year-old sister. The sponsor accused the Filipina of having sex with a Pakistani gardener who visited the house weekly. (9) Pinoy nurse with HIV charged for sex with minor in US It was reported in June that a 38-year-old Filipino registered nurse who is reportedly HIV-positive has been arrested and charged with having inappropriate sexual relations with a male juvenile acquaintance while knowing that he (the suspect) is infected with sexually transmitted disease.       Authorities said Roland L. Densen, who is employed at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, was charged with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and diseased person committing an act of sexual penetration.       The sexual abuse occurred over approximately a two-month period, and the 14-year-old victim had disclosed the abuse to his parents, who immediately contacted authorities, according to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli. Densen was released on June 8 after posting bail.   Molinelli had said the charges are “merely accusations” and that Densen is “presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” (10) Prominent Fil-Am leader caught in US stealing from foundation for children with cancer A prominent Filipino-American community leader was arrested and charged with burglary and grand larceny in October after he was caught on surveillance video stealing from a foundation that assists children with cancer.       Rene Ballenas, 50, who once served as treasurer and member of the board of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI), was apprehended at the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was employed as a clerical worker.       He is accused of taking $7,332 worth of valuables that were either gifts for sick children or were to be auctioned off to benefit them, authorities said. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. Ballenas was eventually released after posting $10,000 bail, but the case was reportedly still in its initial stages. (11) Pinay maid in Kuwait arrested for putting bits of glass in children's food A Filipina housemaid in Kuwait was arrested for allegedly putting bits of glass in the food of her employer's children.     According to a report of the news site Emirates 24/7, the children's mother was shocked when she saw the maid mixing bits of glass into the food.       The mother told the police that the maid "pretended to be epileptic" to escape punishment. (12) Pinoy couple in UAE charged with adultery for out-of-wedlock baby A Filipino couple faces adultery charges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for having an out-of-wedlock baby girl, a report of the news site Gulf News reported in June. The police said the baby was born out of an illicit relationship. The Filipino father admitted to the police that he had an illicit affair with the Filipina but that he intended to marry her. Their investigation showed that the baby girl was born inside a house in Sharjah to hide the secret. However, the affair was uncovered after the Filipino father rushed to a hospital to have the baby, born prematurely at 28 weeks, placed in an incubator. - VVP, GMA News