Businessman denies link to shabu lab

 MANILA, Philippines - A businessman said yesterday he has nothing to do with the shabu laboratory in Parañaque City and the five Taiwanese who were arrested during the raid on the laboratory on Aug. 19.

David Du, 47, said he is not the broker of the precursors and essential chemicals, used to manufacture shabu, seized at the shabu laboratory in a compoud on Santisima Trinidad street in San Antonio Valley 12.

Du said he shut down his customs brokerage firm four years ago and is now involved in the food service business.

Du sought The STAR yesterday to explain how his name was dragged into the drug case involving Tsai Horng, Yu Kun Lin, Huang Yung Chun, Cheng Yu Teng, and Hsu Yun Pong. He said he is willing to work with police investigators.

The Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) earlier said it intends to summon Du as documents showed he rented the two-story house from its owner, Celso Rodriguez, for P27,000 a month.

Du admitted renting the house and a 2,000-square-meter lot in the compound in 2008 and 2009 for his Taiwanese friend, a certain Wudhin, who buys bonsai plants for export to Taiwan.

When the entry of bonsai plants into Taiwan became strict, Du said Wudhin folded up his business and turned the place over to Cheng.

Aside from Cheng, Du said he also knew Tsai, the cook and caretaker of the place. Du said he visited the place several times because Tsai would call him up each time he cooked a new dish.

“I have not seen any laboratory equipment,” Du said.

Rodriguez and his family are staying in the second and third floors of the house and it was next to impossible for them not to notice the shabu lab, he said.