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Saturday, July 22, 2006
Brit tells on 7 shabu lab men
By Rose O. Versoza
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
BRITISH national Hung Chin Chang dragged all of his co-accused, except for the two warehouse owners and a driver, in the two shabu manufacturing cases. He narrated in court their respective participation in the drug operation in Mandaue City.
Based on Hung's entire open court testimony yesterday and last Thursday at the sala of Regional Trial Court Branch 28 Judge Marilyn Yap, four warehouses in Cebu were used for the drug operation, with each warehouse serving different purposes.
Objections
Despite objections from defense lawyers, the prosecution succeeded in presenting Hung, whose testimony dealt on how the operation was conceptualized until the raid of the shabu lab in Barangay Umapad last Sept. 24, 2004.
Hung gave his testimony, with the assistance of Charlson Jeffrey Yu, who was appointed by the Supreme Court as the official Chinese interpreter, to support his application to become a state witness.
In defending his client's application, lawyer Danilo Yap said only Hung knows the participation of the other accused.
"Everybody is hurting with the testimony of my client. No person or witness so far presented by the prosecution knows the ins and outs of their business. No other person or no other witness knows the specific roles of the other accused," Yap said.
Hung and 13 other men are facing two drug manufacturing cases for the operation of the clandestine shabu laboratories in Barangays Umapad and Paknaan in Mandaue.
Eleven men, including Hung, were caught with at least 675 kilograms of shabu, several chemicals and lab equipment.
Defense lawyers opposed Hung's becoming a state witness, saying he is not qualified as he appeared to be the most guilty party in the case.
Hung testified that suspected financier Calvin de Jesus Tan was the one who put up the shabu factory. Tan merely hired him to handle it.
He said Tan recruited the other persons and took charge of the operation's "funding, as well as its procedures and ins and outs."
Hung said Tan would just give him instructions on what to do.
Tan introduced him to accused Joseph Yu who facilitated the factory in Cebu. Hung said Yu rented the different warehouses used for the operation.
Yu had told Hung that he will let accused Allan Yap Garcia get the ingredients stored in the Lopez Jaena warehouse to the Umapad warehouse.
Hung said that in January 2004, Tan sent over to Cebu accused Liu Bo and Tao Fei to assemble the dismantled machineries that Tan had earlier sent through a forwarding company.
He said the machineries assembled were to be used for cooking "ice" or shabu and "to diffuse the fumes so as not to smell."
They were then advised by Tan to go home because he (Tan) will first observe the situation for possible danger. Hung went home to Hong Kong in March 2004.
While Hung was away, Yu looked after the warehouse.
Return to RP
In August that same year, Hung returned to the Philippines twice upon Tan's instruction, for him to oversee the warehouse.
Hung said Tan directed him to start the actual drug manufacturing on Sept. 19, 2004.
Tan had sent over accused Chinese nationals Bao Xia Fu and We Tiao Yi, Taiwanese Lin Li Ku, Malaysians Liew Kam Song and Siew Kin Weng to "cook the ice."
Chinese Liu Bo and Tao Fei were also present to oversee the machines during the production.
Hung said an air-conditioned room was set up in the Paknaan warehouse for drying the shabu. The Looc warehouse was to be used as storage for the illegal drugs.
On Sept. 24, 2004, or on the day of the raid, Hung was in the Umapad warehouse "to oversee the production."
When the raiding policemen arrived, Hung still managed to send a "pre-arranged" text message to Tan informing him that they are in trouble because armed men had just entered the warehouse.
Hung, though, did not mention the names of accused Richard Ong, Andy Ng and Joseph Lopez, who are all Cebuanos.
Ong and Ng owned the warehouse in Umapad while Lopez was earlier identified as the group's driver.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 22, 2006 issue)
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