Controversial woman, nephew get life for shabu trafficking

The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted yesterday on drug charges a 55-year-old Chinese woman whose penchant for playing around with the law caused the sacking of an appellate justice and the suspension of a trial court judge.

Sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking were Yu Yuk Lai and her nephew, William Sy. Both were arrested at the parking lot of a hotel in Manila on Nov. 7, 1998 while delivering three kilos of shabu to a police undercover agent in exchange for P2 million worth of casino chips.

State Prosecutor Pablo Formaran III, who spearheaded the prosecution of Yu, was aghast over the verdict handed down by RTC Judge Teresa Soriaso, saying Yu’s crime warranted the death penalty.

Apart from imprisonment, Yu and Sy were also ordered to pay a fine of P5 million.

The case whipped up a scandal that rocked the judiciary after agents of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force arrested Yu while she was gambling at the Holiday Inn Hotel casino in Manila last year.

Yu, a known high-roller at the casino, was supposed to be confined in a hospital.

Earlier, Yu petitioned RTC Judge Manuel Muro, who was hearing her case, to allow her to seek medical treatment outside her detention cell, which the judge granted.

Because of the irregularity, Formaran sought the inhibition of Muro. He also charged that former appellate court Justice Demetrio Demetria and the Chinese trader and sports patron Go Teng Kok tried to pressure him into withdrawing his motion to inhibit Muro.

His allegation led to the dismissal of Demetria and the preventive suspension of Muro.

Demetria has appealed his case.

At yesterday’s promulgation of the sentence, the clerk of court read only the dispositive portion of Soriaso’s 41-page decision.

Both Soriaso and the clerk of court evaded interviews by reporters.

Yu tried to buy time by filing a motion for postponement of the decision, citing as reason the absence of her lawyer, but Soriaso turned down her appeal.

Formaran said he has to consult with his immediate superiors, Senior State Prosecutor Archimedes Manabat and Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Leonardo Guiyab, whether they will question Soriaso’s ruling.

"I will have to talk first with my superiors. I still have to consult them," Formaran said when asked by The STAR whether he will move to upgrade the verdict to death.

Mere possession of at least 200 grams of shabu is theoretically punishable with death, particular if there are no mitigating circumstances.

Demetria was sacked by the Supreme Court (SC) last March 27 — a first in the 65-year history of the Appellate Court — for intervening in the case and asking Formaran to "go slow" on Yu.

He was also stripped of his benefits and was permanently barred from holding any public office.

"Through his indiscretions, Demetria did not only make a mockery of high office, but also caused incalculable damage to the entire judiciary. The mere mention of his name in the newspapers, allegedly lawyering for a suspected drug queen, seriously undermined the integrity of the judiciary," the SC ruling stated.

"There is simply no place in the judiciary for those who cannot meet the exacting standards of judicial conduct and integrity. Magistrates of justice must always be fair and impartial. They should avoid not only acts of impropriety, but all appearances of impropriety," it added.

Formaran claimed Demetria and Go came to his office in July last year, and told him to go slow on Yu.

In addition, Demetria, also a former justice undersecretary and acting secretary, called up Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, to seek his intervention in ordering Formaran to withdraw his motion for the inhibition of Muro.

"The evidence is clear, if not overwhelming and damning. His denial cannot stand against the positive assertions of Zuño and Formaran which are consistent with natural human experience," the 18-page SC ruling said.

The High Tribunal said Demetria’s telephone call to Zuño was a "logical follow-up."

The SC brushed aside Demetria’s alibi that he merely visited old friends, but admitted having met Formaran for the first time, saying the incidents could not have been accidental but pre-arranged.

"The circumstances only show that Demetria and Atty. Reinerio Paas, along with Go Teng Kok, did not go to the DOJ (Department of Justice) to see Secretary Artemio Tuquero, but to visit, if not pressure, Zuño and Formaran," the SC said.