Car dealer meted 6 months for estafa

The Supreme Court recently upheld the six-month sentence of a car dealer who passed off a defective vehicle as brand new.

The SC's second division affirmed the Court of Appeals decision upholding the conviction of car dealer Jaime Guinhawa who was found guilty for estafa and was sentenced to six months in jail.

In a 26-page decision penned by Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr., the SC found out that Guinhawa misrepresented a van as brand new when he sold it to a certain Josephine Silo and her husband.

The SC said Guinhawa is not relieved of criminal liability for deceitful concealment of material facts even if the buyer made a visual inspection of the van's interior and exterior before she agreed to buy it.

It was learned that Guinhawa bought the brand new Mitsubishi L-300 Versa van from a legitimate dealer Manila and while he was on his way to Naga City, the van got into an accident and sustained serious damage.

After the van was repaired, Guinhawa displayed the van in his showroom saying it was brand new.

Believing it was really so, the Silo couple bought the van, but after less than a month, the couple discovered that it had defects and had already been repaired.

Now that his six-month conviction is already final, Guinhawa still has a chance to avail of probation if this is the first time he was convicted of a criminal case.

If the probation is granted, an applicant will no longer be jailed for his offense. - Rene U. Borromeo