Pinay maid of HK pop star jailed for stealing

HONG KONG (AFP) – The Filipino house maid of veteran Hong Kong pop star Jacky Cheung has been jailed for six months after stealing photographs and a letter from her boss, media reports said yesterday.

Preslyn-saga Catacutan, 30, said she took the items to keep as souvenirs because she was a fan of the 45-year old star.

But magistrate Winston Leung told the court he believed Catacutan had intended to sell them.

"Common sense directed that the celebrity’s personal items can be of high value," he told the court, a report in the South China Morning Post said. "Celebrities are prone to such betrayal."

The report of Monday’s hearing said Cheung had discovered the theft after being tipped off by another maid. The photos were found in Catacutan’s jeans pocket, it said.

Cheung is one of Hong Kong’s biggest stars, rising to fame in the mid-1980s to become one of the so-called "Heavenly Kings of Song" along with fellow stars Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai.

Like most Hong Kong stars, Cheung has been packaged as an all-round entertainer, starring in a number of hit local movies as well as singing Canto-pop, a hybrid of Chinese ballads and Western pop.