MANILA — Businessman Dong Yi Shen, alias Kenneth Dong, attended Monday’s preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice of the drug smuggling charges filed against him by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The other respondents in the case, however, including Customs broker Mark Ruben G. Taguba II, did not appear.
Aside from Dong and Taguba, the other respondents Taiwanese nationals Chen Min and Jhu Ming Jyun, Chinese nationals Chen Ju Long a.k.a. Richard Tan, Richard Chen and Li Guang Feng and Filipino nationals Fidel Anoche Dee, Teejay A. Marcellana and Eirene May A. Tatad were charged with violating Section 4 (Importation of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals) of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Dong and Tatad both submitted their counter affidavit denying the charges filed against them.
Only Dong and Tatad subscribed to their counter-affidavits before the panel of prosecutors composed of Assistant State Prosecutors Aristotle Reyes and Michael John Humarang.
Dong was earlier arrested by the NBI for rape charges is now detained in the Parañaque City jail.
Three respondents – Chen, Taguba and Marcellana – either appeared in the hearing or sent their lawyers but were not ready to submit answers.
Reyes gave them more time to file the respondents counter-affidavits in the next hearing on September 25.
Reyes said the rest of the respondents who failed to appear before the DOJ – Li Guang Feng alias Manny Li and Taiwanese nationals Chen Min and Jhu Ming Jyun – have lost their opportunity to answer the charges and the complaint against them was already considered submitted for resolution.
Taguba and Marcellana’s counsel Raymund Fortun said there was no need for Taguba to attend the hearing.
“There was no need for him to be present today (Monday). He wasn’t even submitting his counter-affidavit. Ang pakay ko lang for today is just to ask for an extension to file our counter-affidavit. Mark received the complaint just last September 13, that was five days ago,” Fortun said.
The NBI said the respondents were responsible for the importation of the illegal drugs from China and which were later recovered by authorities inside the warehouse of Hongfei Logistics Group of Companies in Valenzuela City which is owned by Richard Chen. | PNA
