Korean in sex assault case out on bail

AFTER posting P120,000 as his bail, a Korean national accused of molesting a Japanese woman gained temporary freedom.

But Jong Duk Lee, who was charged with sexual assault, cannot return to his home country after Judge Victor Teves Sr. issued a hold departure order against him.

Lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 legal counsel, said in an interview that they welcomed the decision of Teves, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 54 in Lapu-Lapu City.

“We will await the resolution of our motion to upgrade his (Lee’s) case to a non-bailable crime of rape,” he said.

Last week, Lee, 24, and Carl Park, 21, were arrested by the police after two Japanese women accused them of raping them inside a motel in Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City.

Rape charges were filed against Lee and Park. But the prosecutor’s office downgraded Lee’s case to sexual assault after his alleged victim said he only tried to touch her private parts, but did nothing more, when he was drunk.

But Atty. Benjamin Negapatan, one of the defense lawyers, previously said what happened was consensual sex.

The two Japanese women, 21 and 20 years old, were seen in a motel room in Lapu-Lapu City the morning after a drinking spree that reportedly brought them to two joints in Cebu City.

Lee and Park took Rooms 8 and 6. But a room boy noticed later that night that one suspect from Room 6 transferred with one woman to Room 8.

The complainants recalled that they were walking from their rented apartment in Lapu-Lapu City, when the suspects befriended them as they passed by a resort. The two men reportedly offered to drive them to a mall.

The women accepted, then parted ways with their new friends at the mall. But one of the suspects managed to get one woman’s cell phone number.

That afternoon, they met again at a coffee shop and the men invited them for a round of drinks in an establishment in Barangay Busay, Cebu City.

After that, they transferred to a complex along Gen. Maxilom Ave., where they had a shot of tequila.

Meanwhile, Teves said the copies of his order should be given to the Bureau of Immigration, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Aviation Security Command in Lapu-Lapu City, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

CIDG 7 personnel gave a copy of the order to the BI 7 in Mandaue City yesterday afternoon.