Penalty Deferred as Filipina Confesses to Drug Possession

For more headlines like this, please subscribe to Afrihkanews.com 

In West Kowloon Court, a Filipina asylum seeker named Cherry Ann Cereneo, aged 33, entered a guilty plea for possessing dangerous drugs. However, the sentencing was postponed for two weeks to allow for an examination to determine if she had developed an addiction. Magistrate Jason Wan explained that he needed to establish her health condition before issuing an appropriate sentence, as the drug in question was cocaine.

Magistrate Wan requested a Drug Addiction Center report for Cereneo and adjourned the case until January 23. In the meantime, she was ordered to return to jail custody. According to a report from Mong Kok Police, Cereneo was apprehended during a checkpoint on Dundas St. in Mong Kok at 1:30 am on August 9, 2023. The police officers found her behaviour suspicious, leading to a search that uncovered two small plastic bags containing 0.28 grams and 0.9 grams of cocaine, as confirmed by the government laboratory's analysis.

During the hearing, Cereneo's duty lawyer initially made a statement implying that the drugs did not belong to her and were given to her by a friend for safekeeping. However, Magistrate Wan interrupted, cautioning that this could indicate involvement in drug trafficking, which carries more severe consequences than simple possession. The lawyer swiftly retracted the statement and focused on seeking a lenient penalty by emphasizing Cereneo's remorse and early guilty plea.

The lawyer explained that Cereneo arrived in Hong Kong in 2021 as a domestic helper but was subsequently terminated. She has since applied for non-refoulement and currently relies on a monthly allowance of $1,100 from a non-government organization.

菲律宾人承认持有毒品，缓刑

在西九龙法院，一名33岁的菲律宾寻求庇护者Cherry Ann Cereneo因持有危险药物而认罪。 然而，判决被推迟两周，以便进行检查以确定她是否上瘾。 法官杰森·万解释说，他需要在做出适当的判决之前确定她的健康状况，因为涉案药物是可卡因。

万法官要求 Cereneo 提供戒毒中心报告，并将案件押后至 1 月 23 日。同时，她被命令返回监狱羁押。 据旺角警方通报，2023年8月9日凌晨1时30分， Cereneo在旺角登打士街检查站被捕。警方发现她行为可疑，搜查时发现两个小塑料袋。 经政府实验室分析证实，袋子中含有 0.28 克和 0.9 克可卡因。

在听证会上，塞雷内奥的值班律师最初发表声明，暗示这些毒品不属于她，而是朋友送给她保管的。 然而，万法官打断了他的话，并警告说，这可能表明参与贩毒，这比简单持有毒品会带来更严重的后果。 律师很快撤回了声明，并通过强调塞雷内奥的悔恨和早期认罪来寻求从轻处罚。

律师解释， Cereneo于2021年以家庭佣工身份抵达香港，但随后被解雇。 此后她申请了不驱回，目前依靠非政府组织每月 1,100 美元的津贴。