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Saturday, January 14, 2006
3 men ready to name shabu lab contacts
British national Hung Chin Chang’s discharge as a state witness in the drug manufacturing cases against several foreign nationals is not yet certain, according to the prosecution.
Senior State Prosecutor Archimedes Manabat revealed the Department of Justice (DOJ) has yet to approve Hung’s application to become a state witness.
That, as Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) announced that the local contacts of the operators of the busted shabu laboratory will be named during the trial proper if three suspects stay true to their words.
Aside from Hung Chin Chang, Cuenco said suspect Joseph Yu is willing to reveal the names during the trial only if he is assured that he will not be included in the list of respondents in the case.
Another suspect, Indian national Tamadoni Morteza, also reportedly told Cuenco that local contacts protect the operators of the laboratory.
Assurance
“Tamadoni agreed with my theory that there are local contacts who have given the mastermind adequate assurance na dili sila hilabtan diri. They are willing to tell us who the contacts are on the condition that they will be discharged, so that’s the dilemma we are facing. If we give in, who will be left for us to charge?” Cuenco said.
Hung, Yu, Morteza and 10 others, including suspected drug financier Calvin de Jesus Tan, are charged with two cases of drug manufacturing for their involvement in the operation of shabu laboratories in Barangays Umapad and Paknaan in Mandaue City.
Tan’s lawyer, William de los Santos, had asked the prosecution during the bail hearing last Thursday on the plan to turn Hung into a state witness.
Manabat told the court that this is just one of the options available, and nothing is definite yet.
Manabat admitted before reporters that should Hung be made into a state witness, he would be presented only during the trial of the main case and not during Tan’s bail hearing.
Yesterday’s continuation of the bail hearing was cut short after defense lawyer Oscar Maturan no longer wished to cross-examine policeman Janelito Marquez, who was part of the surveillance team that discovered the existence of the clandestine shabu laboratory in Umapad.
The testimony of prosecution witness Tamadoni Mortesa also ended yesterday after the prosecution chose not to conduct redirect examination.
The hearing on Tan’s petition for bail will resume on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, the last hearing schedules the court gave the prosecution.
De los Santos believes that so far, the prosecution has yet to present evidence to link Tan to the drug operations.
Tan had belied reports that he plans to escape from jail and that his wife paid a rebel group P5 million to carry out the rescue operation.
As for Cuenco, he said Yu and Morteza have yet to tell him the names.
But he suspects these are individuals who are providing security to the financiers of the laboratory, as well as businessmen who were supposed to distribute the illegal drugs.
Lower penalty
Cuenco told reporters yesterday he will leave it to the Department of Justice to decide on the fate of Joseph Yu.
He suggested that if he cannot be made a state witness, Yu’s penalty could be lowered if he pleads guilty and names all the local contacts.
Meanwhile, the legislator expects there will be more supply of illegal drugs from Ozamiz and Iligan arriving in Cebu after the mega shabu laboratory in Mandaue City and other laboratories in Manila were busted.
Cuenco said he was not surprised that the one kilo of shabu seized from a janitor of a shipping company last Thursday was from Ozamiz since Misamis Occidental has always been the primary source of shabu of drug traders here. (ROV/LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 14, 2006 issue)
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