Filipina mother and son leave Qatar after jail term
A Filipina expat who was imprisoned in Qatar and banned from leaving the country for having a baby out of wedlock and for unpaid debts, has finally left the nation with the ministry’s permission.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has lifted her travel ban so that she can go back to her motherland with her three year old son.
According to Doha News, Catherine was arrested at Al-Ahli Hospital in December 2012 for giving birth to a baby boy out of wedlock. The online news portal further explains that the Turkish father of the child had already left the country.
However, Catherine couldn’t exit Qatar as her passport had been surrendered as security for a large loan. She also spent two years in jail for unpaid debts, all the while keeping her son with her in prison.
Although she was released after her prison term in 2015, she couldn’t leave the country as a result of the civil cases that had been lodged against her due to non-payment on loans.
She was stranded in Qatar with her son and without any chance of getting employed as she couldn’t obtain a residence permit in Qatar.
While she had been relying on friends and relatives for accommodation and food, she had also been getting support from the community.
Catherine and her son Adam left Qatar on April 25 after many legal troubles. Now that they are safely back in the Philippines, Catherine has been reported saying that she would not take anything for granted and would live for today because nobody knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. [Doha News]
really look like films
WT: Thanks.. I was just wondering if anyone from the paper had tried to contact the father to ask why he'd abandoned his family..
Also whether the debt had been forgiven...
Hats off to the Interior Minister for allowing her to leave..
Their pictures should not be published as to protect them especially the little kid.
"After a lengthy wait in a detention center waiting for new court appearances, she was sentenced to further prison time for unpaid debt. - On April 18 the Minister of Interior issued a directive to lift Catherine’s travel bans."
"Adam’s Turkish father had left the country for good while Catherine was pregnant, but she had been unable to do the same as she had surrendered her passport as security for a large loan." - For you, brit, from DN.
Great news.. Wish hr the best. However, another peace of bad jornalism..
No details on where the father is now..
No details on how she managed to pay off her debts, or whether she was forgiven