Manila RTC sentences eight Coast Guard personnel for 2013 death of Taiwanese fisherman

September 18, 2019

The Manila City Regional Trial Court on Wednesday handed down its sentence on eight Philippine Coast Guard personnel in connection with the death of Taiwanese fisherman Hong Shih Cheng in Balintang Channel off the coast of Batanes in May 2013.

In a decision, Judge Eduardo Ramon Reyes of Manila City RTC Branch 15 said while the prosecution did not present direct evidence to prove who killed the Taiwanese, it presented circumstantial evidence “sufficient to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt of the Coast Guard personnel''.

They were Commander Arnold Enrique dela Cruz, Seamen 1st Class Edrando Quiapo Aguila, Mhelvin Aguilar Bendo II, Andy Gibb Ronario Golfo, Sunny Galang Masangkay and Henry Baco Solomon, Seaman 2nd Class Nickey Reynold Aurellio and Petty Officer 2 Richard Fernandez Corpuz.

The accused were sentenced eight years and one day of imprisonment to 14 years, eight months and one day as maximum punishment.

“Section 4 Rule 133 of the Revised Rules of Evidence states that circumstantial evidence is sufficient for conviction if there is more than one circumstance, the facts from which the inferences are derived are proven and the combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt,” the decision stated.

The prosecution presented 13 witnesses, including the victim’s son Hong Yu Tzu, one of the crew of fishing vessel Guang Da Xing No.28, forensic pathologist from the Taiwan Institute of Forensics  Pan Chih Shin, Lee Jing Wei, deputy director of the Forensic Science Division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of Taiwan and their firearm examiner Chen Yen Ting who testified on the manner of death and the extent of injuries of the victim.

Hiyasmin Abarientos, a ballistician from the National Bureau of Investigation ( NBI), showed the Taiwanese vessel was riddled with bullets and the slugs found in the boat matched the firearms recovered from the accused vessel.

“The foregoing circumstances proved not only the identity of the accused but also their participation and collective responsibility in the death of victim Hong Shi Cheng. They reveal a unity of purpose and concerted action evidencing their conspiracy to kill him,'' it said. 

“With the accused conspiring with intent to kill, killed victim Hong Shih Cheng with no legal justification duly proven, the moral certainty that produces conviction of the accused for homicide in an unprejudiced mind has been satisfied. Intent to kill is also manifest considering the 53 points of impact found in Guang Da Xing No. 28 vessel,” the lower court added.

The court also ordered the accused “to pay, jointly and severally, the heirs of the victim the amount of P50, 000 as civil indemnity, and P50, 000 as moral damages."

The court did not award actual damages to the victim’s heirs saying “the said damages were not duly proved with reasonable degree of certainty.”

Reyes allowed the eight to remain at liberty pending appeal of their case.

Coast Guard spokesperson Capt. Armand Balilo said they would respect the court's decision even as he “insisted that their personnel merely did their duty” when they accosted the Taiwanese fishing vessel.

The respondents all pleaded not guilty during arraignment as they claimed they were only forced to fire at the Taiwanese fishing vessel in self-defense after it tried to ram the marine control and surveillance ship of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and refused to stop for boarding inspection despite repeated warning.

The BFAR patrol vessel was manned by Coast Guard personnel.

They also claimed the Taiwanese were poaching and were trying to escape when accosted by the BFAR patrol ship.

The incident triggered a diplomatic row between Taipei and Manila with the former imposing sanctions on the Philippines, including banning hiring of overseas Filipino workers.

This was lifted three months following the incident after the government sent an official to apologize and the NBI recommended filing of charges against the accused. DMS