The next day, the OFW was brought to the police station in Kowloon City purportedly to file a sworn statement. But she was detained there for a day, said the Unifil-HK report. When she was released July 16, four police officers accompanied her to search her belongings looking for a sharp round object that could have caused the wound but found nothing.
She was charged at the Hunghom Police Station with ill treatment or neglect by those in charge of child or young person and detained again.
The magistrate in court no. 7 opined that Farias was not guilty during the August 21 hearing. Another hearing was set to hear the testimonies of the attending physician and the mother of the baby. After four postponements, because Farinas could not afford to hire a lawyer to defend her and a doctor to examine the baby to corroborate her statement that she had nothing to do with the babys injury, a hearing was finally held on December 1. The magistracy then sentenced her to two years imprisonment. It also recommended that she undergo a psychiatric test for two weeks while detained at Tai Lam Prison.
Bagong Bayani
Meanwhile, Migrante is keeping in touch with the families of the OFWs detained in Kuwait and Hongkong helping them follow-up the cases of their detained relatives with the DFA. The organizations chapters in Kuwait and Hong Kong regularly visits the detained OFWs and are exerting pressure on the Philippine embassies in the two countries to act on the migrant workers cases.
Ombina lamented the seeming inaction and lack of concern of government officials at the Philippine embassy in Kuwait. He said that Lagata is entitled to be released immediately and be paid her salary for three months.
Based on my observation on the above case, it is the duty of the state to protect the rights and welfare of OFWs in general and Miss Carmelita R. Lagata in particular, wrote Ombina. He said that the government should protect the rights of OFWs, referred to as the bagong bayani (modern-day heroes) as it is their remittances that give stability to the economy. Bulatlat
