Hong Kong domestic worker jailed for two years after stealing HK$1.2 million in watches and jewellery from employer
- Edarlyn Arcalas Emperador was HK$250,000 in debt, and had borrowed money from loan sharks
- Woman’s lawyer claims her failure to repay led to deaths of her partner and elder brother
A Hong Kong domestic helper whose large debts led to the deaths of two family members has been jailed for two years, after she admitted stealing HK$1.2 million in watches and jewellery from her employer.
Edarlyn Arcalas Emperador’s lawyer told the District Court on Monday the 51-year-old had borrowed HK$250,000 (US$32,000) from a number of sources, including loan sharks, in her hometown in the Philippines.
Loan sharks were responsible for the deaths of her partner and elder brother after she failed to repay her creditors, defence counsel Jim Sherry claimed.
Judge David Dufton expressed “real reservations” as to Emperador’s motive for the offence, noting she had told police she stole the items out of greed, and had pawned more jewels than necessary to clear her debts.
Prosecutors charged Emperador with one count of theft for stealing eight watches, nine necklaces, six pendants, eight gold ingots and a dozen pairs of earrings from a high-rise flat at Celestial Heights in Ho Man Tin between April 6 and August 6 last year. She pleaded guilty to the offence.
Emperador said she began stealing from her employer – Irene Leung Ho-yan, for whom she had worked for 24 years – as early as October 2019, but she could not recall what she had stolen.