Camy Tam
Two Filipinas who work as domestic helpers were arrested on Sunday for earning usurious interest from their compatriots who borrowed money from one of them, as well as uploading a Filipina borrower’s photo and passport copy on social media app and threatening her, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheuk Kou Chi said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The 60-year-old suspect named Thelma and her 30-year-old daughter surnamed Fernandez are non-resident workers.
According to Cheuk, the Filipina victim, who also works as a domestic helper, reported to the Public Security Police on July 22 that she had borrowed 37,500 patacas from Thelma to cover her daily expenses and agreed to pay monthly interest of 15 percent (5,620 patacas in total).
The victim told the police that she introduced several Filipina friends to Thelma to borrow money from her under the same terms, and the victim acted as guarantor for her friends. As the victim’s friends were unable to repay their loans, Thelma asked her to pay on their behalf. The victim told the police that she had so far repaid 72,450 patacas in interest to Thelma.
As the victim was unable to continue her payments and asked Thelma how much she owed her, the victim was told that she had only repaid 3,000 patacas of the principal and she still owed the balance of 34,500 patacas.
Cheuk said the victim told the police that this month a Filipina surnamed Fernandez, who is the daughter of Thelma, had uploaded her photo and a copy of her passport on a social media app and posted messages claiming that she was a “crook” and threatening to kill her. The victim grew worried about her personal safety and reported the case to the police.
According to Cheuk, the Public Security Police told the two suspects to report to a police station on Sunday. Both admitted that they illegally took photos of the victim but denied that they threatened her. Thelma admitted that she received usurious interest from the victim.
The two suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of profiteering, illegal recordings, and intimidation, according to Cheuk.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Wednesday shows the two Filipina suspects being escorted by PSP officers from the PSP headquarters in Zape to a PSP vehicle
