A former domestic helper who overstayed in the city for nearly 20 years and gave birth to an undocumented daughter who plunged to her death was sentenced to a year in prison at Eastern Magistrates' Courts on Friday.

Her partner, former Jardine Llyod Thompson managing director Nicholas Cousins, narrowly escaped jail, receiving an eight-month sentence for aiding and abetting Hermina Garcia to overstay and failure to register the births of two girls. His sentence was suspended for two years so that he could continue to care and provide for their surviving daughter.

Magistrate So Wai-tak noted imprisoning both parents would be detrimental to the development of their teenage daughter who was coping with the tragic loss of her older sister, whose death after a fall from a height in April at a luxury Repulse Bay flat led to the discovery of the undocumented family.

Senior counsel Giles Surman had pleaded for leniency on humanitarian grounds, noting imprisoning both parents would affect the development of their surviving 15-year-old daughter.

So sympathized with the loss of the eldest child, noting he too was a father. But he added sentencing guidelines must be maintained lest any leniency for Garcia encourage undocumented families to remain underground.

He added depriving the child of both parents at this stage would not bode well, with the daughter having finally been registered and attending school.

So said Garcia's decision to raise two daughters while living illegally in the city was selfish, as the family's efforts to keep both girls a secret had deprived them of the rights enjoyed by documented children. It had barred them from seeking services and engaging in activities which would require their identities to be registered.

Nevertheless, Cousins and Garcia, who both pleaded guilty to the charges, proved to be loving parents who genuinely cared for their daughters, as they had provided their children with quality education through tutors and medical care without burdening the local system, So added.

Surman called the family's predicament an absolutely unique situation, noting the family would forever bear the loss of their elder daughter. Sending both parents to jail risked the healthy development of their surviving child.

So deigned to suspend Cousins' sentence, noting he was the sole breadwinner for the family. The magistrate also noted his actions in aiding and abetting Garcia's overstay did not coincide with Garcia's failure to return to her native Philippines in 1994, but that he provided shelter and support in 1999 after learning of Garcia's pregnancy, which "limited his options", So said.

Garcia served two two-year terms as a domestic helper before breaching her condition of stay in 1994. The pair met in 1995.

The couple was registered as common-law spouses when Cousins sough to extend his medical coverage to Garcia, while Garcia was still recognized as married in her country of origin. She was unable to secure consent for a divorce from her estranged husband, a legal requirement in the Philippines.

Garcia faces immediate deportation after completing her sentence, while Surman said the pair planned to wed now that Garcia's husband had passed away last year.

tim@chinadailyhk.com