Case Digest (A.M. No. 07-8-3-SC)
Facts:
On June 25, 1920, Wong Hsiao Fong, a lieutenant-commander in the Chinese Navy, arrived in Manila from Shanghai on the steamship Empress of Russia, bringing four Chinese naval cadets. During the day of arrival, port courtesies were obtained to allow landing of baggage without examination, but when customs inspectors found one grip unusually heavy, they required its opening, which was refused by the party handling the baggage; the order for courtesies was later countermanded and customs proceeded to open the grip after the accused was made to identify his luggage. On the following day, after the accused and his companions identified their baggage, the grip tagged with Wong Hsiao Fong’s name was opened in the customs office and found to contain 67 tins with 14 kilos and 740 grams of opium, leading to his conviction for illegal importation under section 4 of the Opium Law and a sentence of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of P4,000, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolven Case Digest (A.M. No. 07-8-3-SC)
Facts:
- Judgment appealed from and conviction
- The defendant and appellant Wong Hsiao Fong, lieutenant-commander of the Chinese Navy, appealed from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Manila.
- The trial court found Wong Hsiao Fong guilty of illegal importation of 14 kilos of opium, in violation of section 4 of the Opium Law.
- The trial court sentenced him to suffer two years’ imprisonment, to pay a fine of P4,000, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to pay the costs.
- Events surrounding the arrival and courtesies of the port
- On June 25, 1920, Wong Hsiao Fong arrived in Manila from Shanghai, China, on the steamship Empress of Russia, in charge of four Chinese naval cadets.
- Wong Hsiao Fong and his party were sent by the Government of China to the Philippine Islands to have the four junior officers instructed in the art of aviation.
- After arrival, the party went almost immediately to the aviation field at Paranaque and spent practically the entire day there.
- In the evening, they returned to the Chinese Consulate and participated in a banquet held in their honor.
- Procurement of a customs order and attempt to land baggage without examination
- During the afternoon of the ship’s arrival, the Chinese Consul-General solicited and obtained from the Insular Collector of Customs an order for the courtesies of the port, intended to allow the landing of the baggage without examination.
- Late in the afternoon, an employee of the Chinese Consulate was sent to the ship to get the baggage.
- While the baggage was being taken from the ship to pier No. 5, the customs inspectors noticed that one grip was heavy and suspected it contained contraband.
- The customs inspectors required that the heavy grip be opened for examination.
- The person in charge of the baggage refused and insisted on taking the grip to the consulate.
- Countermanding of the port courtesies and customs agents’ actions at the consulate
- When the Insular Collector of Customs, Mr. Aldanese, was informed of what occurred, he countermanded the order granting the courtesies of the port.
- That same evening, Major Arlegui (in charge of the customs secret service) and his assistant Mr. Aguado went to the Chinese Consulate.
- They found the aviation party sitting at a banquet.
- The baggage still remained in the middle of the lower hall of the Consulate.
- Wong Hsiao Fong was required by the customs agents to identify his baggage.
- The decision stated that it was debatable whether Wong Hsiao Fong did, in fact, separate his own grips, including the grip containing the opium, as claimed by the customs agents, or whether he merely looked at the tags and stated, “This is mine,” or “This is ours,” as claimed by Wong Hsiao Fong and the Chinese Consul-General.
- At any rate, the Consul-General refused to permit Major Arlegui to open the grip in question in the Consulate.
- It was then decided to take the baggage back to the pier for safety.
- Events the next day at the office of the Insular Collector of Customs
- On the next day, Wong Hsiao Fong and his companions went with the Chinese Consul-General to the office of the Insular Collector of Customs to demand delivery of their baggage without examination.
- The Collector refused and ordered them to identify their own baggage.
- Wong Hsiao Fong had entered in his baggage declaration that he had three bags or valises; he sorted out three grips bearing his tags.
- His companions did likewise for their baggage.
- The grip containing the opium was left unclaimed in the middle of the room.
- The grip had attached to it a tag with the name of Lieutenant-Commander Wong.
- The grip was opened, and 67 tins containing 14 kilos and 740 grams of opium were found therein.
- Criminal charge, trial evidence, and conviction
- Based on the occurrences, the city fiscal charged Wong Hsiao Fong with illegal importation of opium.
- Due trial was had.
- Principal prosecution witnesses were Mauro Arlegui (chief of the customs secret service) and Pedro R. Aguado (assistant chief of the customs secret service).
- Defense witnesses were Wong Hsiao Fong and the Chinese Consul-General, Kwei Chih.
- The trial judge rendered a judgment convicting the accused.
- Post-conviction information presented within the appeal period
- Before the expiration of the fifteen days allowed for appeal, defense counsel claimed to have discovered that the real importers were Tarn Ye Kong, Cheung Kun Yan, and Kong Kwai Jim.
- Cheung Kun Yan executed an affidavit before Hartford Beaumont, notary public, in support of that claim.
- Contents of Cheung Kun Yan’s affidavit
- Cheung Kun Yan swore that before the arrival of the Empress of Russia, he received a letter from Tarn Ye Kong stating that he was bringing 314 tins of opium to Manila and asking for help in landing it.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that he went on board the ship under a pass taken up on entry, though the pass was not made out to him by name.
- Cheung Kun Yan related that after being unable to find Tarn Ye Kong on initial attempts, he received a telephone message from him to come again for the third time.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Tarn Ye Kong told him that he had arranged with Kong Kwai Jim (a young man employed at the Chinese Consulate) to land the opium.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Tarn Ye Kong desired to land the entire 314 tins, but Cheung Kun Yan told him it would not be safe to land so much.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Tarn Ye Kong then took a dress suit case belonging to himself and placed 67 tins of opium in it, together with an old overcoat abandoned on the ship by an American passenger.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim was promised P3,000 by Tarn Ye Kong to take the opium ashore safely and take it to Cheung Kun Yan’s house.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that the arrangement included Kong Kwai Jim having Tarn Ye Kong temporarily released on bond so that Tarn Ye Kong could dispose of the opium to customers in Manila.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim told him it would be easy to get the opium past customs because Kong Kwai Jim could pass it as part of the baggage of the Chinese aviators, who had—or were to receive—the courtesies of the port.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim showed him a shipping tag that Kong Kwai Jim had picked up and that, as Cheung Kun Yan understood, had originally been attached to the sword of Lieutenant-Commander Wong, with Wong’s name written on it.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim intended to fasten this tag on the dress suit case to make it pass as the baggage of Lieutenant-Commander Wong.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim told him he had not arranged this with Lieutenant-Commander Wong, did not know or had never seen Lieutenant-Commander Wong, and did not dare to speak to him, but did not need to speak to Wong because after the grip passed customs guards, Kong Kwai Jim would take it directly to Cheung Kun Yan’s house and Lieutenant-Commander Wong would never know anything.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that he was on board when Kong Kwai Jim left and waited near Tarn Ye Kong’s stateroom, after which Cheung Kun Yan slipped away out of fear of blame if anything went wrong.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim later telephoned him saying that the opium had been seized and was now at the customhouse.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that Kong Kwai Jim told him that Lieutenant-Commander Wong was probably in trouble because Wong had identified the bag as his while he was drunk, and Kong Kwai Jim wanted Cheung Kun Yan to notify Tarn Ye Kong, which Cheung Kun Yan stated he was unable to do.
- Cheung Kun Yan stated that neither Lieutenant-C...(Subscriber-Only)