|
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Parents of slain businessman worry over delayed trial
THE parents of a businessman who was murdered inside a church in Pagadian City over one and a half years ago are worried over the delay in the case, particularly since one of those implicated in the crime, the mastermind, is said to be a top government official of that city, the capital town of Zamboanga del Sur.
Although the Supreme Court has already approved the change of venue for the hearing of the case against the suspects from Pagadian City, where the murder occurred, to Zamboanga City last February 20, the Department of Justice ordered last February 28 that the preliminary investigation of the case be done in Manila by a state prosecutor.
The decision of the Department of Justice to conduct the preliminary investigation of the case was based on a petition by the wife of the accused-- Vivian Laride, although the accused himself, Jerry Laride, has signed an affidavit to affirm his desire to have the case be heard in Zamboanga and that he be detained in Zamboanga pending the resolution of the case.
Anselma Chan, mother of victim Alexander Louise Chan, said it would be "unnatural" to conduct the preliminary investigation in Manila, while the hearing of the case will be done in Zamboanga City in accordance with the February 20, 2006 resolution of the Supreme Court.
Alexander Chan was attending services at the Alliance Church in Pagadian City in the morning of October 10, 2004 when a lone gunman, who was sitting in a pew behind him, stood up along with the congregation during the singing of the concluding hymn for the service and shot Alexander at the back with a caliber 45 pistol three times.
In the confusion that followed the gunshots, the gunman managed to walk away while pointing his gun at churchgoers and witnesses, boarded a motorcycle outside the church, and escaped from the crime scene.
The shooting was in full view of churchgoers and some identified the gunman as Jerry Laride, a tricycle driver of Pagadian City.
Records of the case showed that while President Judge Abraham Ramas of the Regional Trial Court in Pagadian issued a warrant of arrest for Laride on December 6, 2004, specified at his address at Barangay Napolan that same city, the suspect was actually arrested by a team of policemen and military intelligence operatives from Zamboanga only last January 20.
Laride was brought to Zamboanga by the arresting officers. In Zamboanga City far from Pagadian City, Laride later implicated a top official of Pagadian as the mastermind in the killing.
Lawyers of the Chan family were able to secure the transfer of the venue of the trial against Laride and the alleged mastermind from Pagadian to Zamboanga. Court officials in Pagadian interposed no objection to the request of the Chan family to transfer the venue of the trial to the city.
Regional State Prosecutor Wilfredo Yu constituted a panel of prosecutors from Zamboanga City and Isabela City, Basilan to conduct the preliminary investigation of the case.
However, Yu was reportedly instructed to refrain from conducting a preliminary investigation of the case. (PR)
(June 24, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
