CRIME DOES NOT PAY... 👍 *********************************************** Globe Asiatique boss Delfin Lee arrested ABS-CBNnews Posted at 03/06/2014 9:12 PM | Updated as of 03/07/2014 2:30 AM Businessman Delfin Lee is shown in a police mugshot after his arrest Thursday night at a hotel in Pasay City. Photo by Kori Quintos, ABS-CBN News MANILA (5th UPDATE) - One of the countrys top fugitives, businessman Delfin Lee, has been arrested, police said Thursday. Lee, a property developer, was brought to Camp Crame where he underwent medical check-up, police said. Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Ruben Sindac said Lee was arrested Thursday night by Task Force Tugis operatives in the lobby of the Hyatt hotel in Manila. Senior Supt. Conrad Capa, chief of the task force, said they started conducting surveillance operations on Lee in August last year, and received information about his whereabouts on Thursday. Capa said he made sure that a warrant issued by Branch 42 Regional Trial Court in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga was live before conducting the arrest. “Sinigurado natin na live o buhay pa ang warrant bago natin ang isinagawa ang arrest,” Capa said. The task force was formed to capture the countrys top 5 high-profile fugitives that include Lee, Jovito Palparan, Ruben Ecleo Jr., and brothers Joel Reyes and Mario Reyes. Lees arrest is in connection with the over P7 billion in Pag-IBIG loans that went to ghost borrowers for a Globe Asiatique housing project in Mabalacat, Pampanga. President Benigno Aquino has offered a P2-million reward for Lees capture. However, Atty. Willie Rivera, legal counsel of Lee, said they were surprised by the arrest. They cannot do that because the standing order is that of the Court of Appeals, until the Supreme Court reverses the order, he said. The Court of Appeals earlier cleared Lee of syndicated estafa charges and ordered the police to stop his arrest, reversing an earlier ruling by the Pampanga trial court that issued the warrant of arrest. The CA ruled that Lee cant be charged with syndicated estafa because the crime should involve 5 or more people. Since Lees co-accused, Cristina Sagun, an executive of his company, was earlier absolved by the same court, the syndicated estafa charges wont have any legal basis. Police: Lees arrest valid Police insisted on the validity of Lees arrest. The Court of Appeals 15th Special Division, recognizing the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over this matter, has already deferred from acting from lifting the warrant of arrest, hence the warrant issued by Branch 42, Regional Trial Court of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga is valid and existing,said Senior Supt. Jigs Coronel, Manila Police District Deputy Director for Operations said on radio dzMM. Ang usapin pong ito ay nasa SC na at dun po aalamin kung meron pang dahilan i-detain o pakulong si Lee, he added. Pag-IBIG Fund Assistant Secretary Daniel Subido, meanwhile, said only the Pampanga court can quash the arrest warrant against Lee. Justice Sec. Leila de Lima earlier said the decision of the special 15th division of the appellate court is not yet final and executory. We take the position that the warrant of arrest against Delfin Lee still stands since the resolution of the Court of Appeals has not attained finality yet, she said. The Pag-IBIG Fund, the complainant in the case, has elevated the case to the Supreme Court. Rivera, meanwhile, said he wrote a letter to the PNP leadership last year, asking for a clarification on the status of Lee, based on the CA decision. According to Rivera, the PNP wrote him back, sent through mail, saying that Lee has already been delisted. This is defiance to the standing CA order, he said, questioning why the PNP did not respect the order. Lee only invited, lawyer says Another lawyer of Lee, Atty. Gilbert Repizo told ANC early Thursday morning that his client was only invited to Camp Crame for clarification regarding the status of his arrest warrant. He said police neither handcuffed Lee nor read him his rights. Repizo said the businessman will be brought to Pampanga on Friday, where his case was filed. - reports from Eric Dastas, dzMM; Kori Quintos, Gus Abelgas, Maan Macapagal, Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News; and Ria de Fiesta; ABS-CBNNews abs-cbnnews/business/03/06/14/delfin-lee-arrested
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:16:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015