Businessman wanted for murder cleared by Pasay City court

A Chinese businessman wrongly accused of murder with a P50,000 reward for his capture was vindicated following the recent ruling of the Pasay City regional trial court (RTC) finding no probable cause to try him for the crime.

In dismissing the case against Anthony Lee last Feb. 1, Judge Edwin Ramizo of the RTC Branch 114 claimed that nobody has pinpointed and positively identified the killers of the victim, Shi Bun Tok. None has also testified directly against Lee.

Ramizo noted that people investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Pasay City police, merely said that Anthony Lee was at the Caesar’s KTV in Manila and was seen drinking with the victim and another Chinese nationals.

Lee expressed surprise when the NBI mistakenly named him as the mastermind in the killing of the Chinese trader whose body was dumped at the Diosdado Macapagal Boulverad in Pasay City last Dec. 1.

The NBI special task force (STF) apprehended the suspect in Shi’s murder, Allan Mendoza, but in media articles published from Dec. 20 to Jan. 17, 2005 Lee’s photographs were highlighted instead of Mendoza’s picture.

Lee’s counsel lawyer David Galang said that his client was also maliciously portrayed in the newspaper articles as a man whose business was losing big because of his alleged vices, which drove him to order the killing of Shi, Lee’s counsel lawyer David Galang said.

Lee said he was a target of a well-orchestrated smear campaign waged by an influential business rival who reportedly maintains strong connections with various government agencies. — Non Alquitran