Sarah Balabagan-Sereno was born on March 8,1979 and is a Filipino former migrant worker and media personality who was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1996 for murder.
17 Facts About Sarah Balabagan
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Sarah Balabagan was initially sentenced to death, but her sentence was later reduced to a year of imprisonment and she returned to the Philippines.
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Sarah Balabagan's story was made into a film in 1997.
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Sarah Balabagan had 13 brothers and sisters but only six survived.
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Sarah Balabagan's siblings died due to disease and because of her family's financial constraints, which prevented them from availing adequate medical care.
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Sarah Balabagan worked for relatives at a young age to support her studies.
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Sarah Balabagan has implied that she was abused by an uncle as a child.
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Sarah Balabagan's recruiter listed her age as 28 and managed to secure a job for her.
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Sarah Balabagan learnt of this falsification only when she was already on her flight to the United Arab Emirates.
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Sarah Balabagan was tasked by contract to work for a 67-year-old widower with four sons.
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Sarah Balabagan was anxious of the employment and convinced herself that her employers would respect her since she and they were Muslims.
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On July 19,1994, Sarah Balabagan killed her employer, Almas Mohammed al-Baloushi, stabbing him 34 times.
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Sarah Balabagan returned to the Philippines on August 1,1996, to a hero's welcome.
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Shortly after her release, Sarah Balabagan embarked on a career as a singer.
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Sarah Balabagan later converted from Islam to Christianity after being introduced to a pastor by a Christian singer, Dulce Amor.
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Sarah Balabagan explained that her revelation was not out of vengeance, but to merely put an end to rumors.
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Sarah Balabagan added that she apologized to "everyone she hurt", including her family and the family of Clavio, and that Clavio's wife has expressed forgiveness, via a messaging app.