Pinay in HK singer's photo theft case appeals conviction

HONG KONG - The Filipina domestic helper jailed for taking three photos of her former employer, popular singer Jacky Cheung, is seeking to bring her case all the way to the Court of Final Appeal, after her appeal against her conviction was rejected on Aug. 8. Preslyn Catacutan was also put back in jail after Court of Appeal judge Verina Bokhary reduced her original sentence of six months to three months. After discounting the time she spent in jail and police custody, as well as a third for good behavior, Catacutan had only three days left to serve. She was moved to the immigration holding center in Castle Peak on Aug. 11, prior to being deported to the Philippines. Acting on her instructions, solicitor Ivy Tong immediately sent a letter to immigration and jail authorities advising them of Catacutan's decision to appeal her case to the highest court. But before this can go ahead, she needs to file an application for legal aid first. As of this writing, it is not clear if Catacutan will be able to hold off her return to her native Dumaguete City in central Philippines. Catacutan's failure to overturn her conviction shocked many of her supporters who attended the full-day hearing of the appeal on Aug. 7, and the handing down of judgment the next day. Many shed tears when it became clear that she would even go back to jail, despite being detained for nearly eight weeks previously. Among those who stood by her was 93-year-old former legislator Elsie Tu who cried out, "This is unbelievable!" Tu added later, "Do people know that this is like sending Preslyn to life imprisonment because she is her family's breadwinner?" Catacutan, 30, is married and has three children. Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente also expressed regret over the decision, after being briefed by his officers who attended the appeal hearing. "The Consulate has always stood by her, so we are saddened by this development. As I have said in the past, we believe in her (Catacutan's) explanation on why she had the three photographs." Catacutan had been in Cheung's employ for about four months when she was sacked on August 27 last year. A search of her belongings yielded a sealed letter addressed to Cheung from the management office of his residential building. Cheung and his wife immediately called the police, and Catacutan was taken to the police station for questioning. There, she was found with three pictures stuffed in her jeans' pockets: two group pictures of Cheung and his wife, and a passport photo of Mrs Cheung. Testifying during her trial, Catacutan said she found the two group pictures lying on the floor in the Cheung couple's bedroom. She also said she picked up the passport photo from a rubbish bin in the same room. She maintained that the Cheungs had seen the pictures on display in the maids' room for some time, and had said nothing about them. As for the letter, Catacutan said she had inadvertently put it inside one of her bags about a month before it was found in her possession. At that time, the Cheungs' home was being renovated and that she, along with three other helpers in the household, was under strict orders to keep the letters away from the workmen. But during his testimony, Cheung denied seeing the photos in the maids' room, and said he never consented to Catacutan keeping them. He also talked of being told by his other helpers of Catacutan's alleged misdeeds, like tampering with his family's computer and stealing their photos. In finding Catacutan guilty, the magistrate in the lower court gave more credence to Cheung's evidence. Magistrate Winston Leung also said he was imposing a deterrent sentence because the court must protect celebrities "from abuse by servants." But his statement that Catacutan had the "trappings of a spy" was deemed "disturbing" by Judge Bokhary, who said "the magistrate had an exaggerated view of the appellant's (Catacutan's) role." Not having any evidence before her on which to calculate the worth of the photos and the letter, Judge Bokhary said she would "do the best I can" and ordered the sentence halved for each count of theft, to be served concurrently. She also said she was convinced that the magistrate had the so-called "test of dishonesty" on his mind when he convicted Catacutan of the theft charges. Catacutan's lawyer, Jonathan Acton-Bond, had argued that his client could not be convicted if the said test were applied in her case. He said that had the pictures not been in open display in the maids' room as Catacutan had claimed, there would have been no "tittle tattle" from the other helpers on her supposed theft of them. Acton-Bond also said that there could be no conviction on the charges because the thefts were supposed to have been committed between June and the middle of August last year, but the photos and the letter were found in Catacutan's possession only on August 27. But Judge Bokhary said she was not persuaded that the charges should have been amended first. - The Sun, HK