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SCMP Reporter

A Filipino maid was jailed for six months yesterday for stealing three personal photos and a letter while working for Canto-pop king Jacky Cheung Hok-yau.

Preslyn-saga Catacutan, 30, who claimed she was a fan of her boss and only took the items to keep as souvenirs, was found guilty of two charges of theft in Eastern Court after the court ruled her testimony 'inconsistent and not sensible'.

Magistrate Winston Leung Wing-chung said the maid collected the personal items 'with commercial value in mind'.

'Common sense directed that the celebrity's personal items can be of high value,' Mr Leung said. 'Celebrities in Hong Kong [are] prone to such betrayal.'

The magistrate also said in his ruling that a deterrent sentence was warranted. He rejected her application for bail pending an appeal.

Cheung sacked the maid on August 27 and reported the theft to police after she failed to give him a satisfactory explanation for keeping the photos. Two of the photographs were taken when Cheung and his actress wife, May Lo Mei-mei, were meeting friends. The third was a passport photo of Ms Lo.

The pop star said he was tipped off by another domestic helper that Catacutan had taken the photos, tampered with his personal computer and also eavesdropped on his private conversations.

The accused had tried to explain to Cheung that she had kept the letter - an unopened business letter to Cheung - by mistake as she mixed up the mail. She said the photos were taken with the consent of Cheung as souvenirs, but Cheung denied her story.

The magistrate said Cheung would have given a fan publicity photos rather than personal ones. The photos were found  in a pocket of her jeans.

'I don't believe that the defendant was wholeheartedly a fan of Cheung,' Mr Leung said. 'I believe that she collected Cheung's personal items at random ... Either there was a market already open to her or she would look for a market later.'

Mr Leung said the defendant did not seem to take her employment seriously - rather, she was spying on Cheung's household.

Catacutan stole the items from Cheung's Repulse Bay penthouse between June and August when the family was moving back into their home following renovations.



Star's maid jailed for six months over theft of photos, letter