No more death for 2 Pinoys

A court in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia spared two Filipino men from the death penalty after finding them to be mere accessories in the murder of a compatriot killed after winning an underground lottery.

Instead, the Taif Higher Court sentenced Alexander Hugo and Jovencio Praxidio to five and seven years in jail, respectively, according to reports reaching the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Four other Filipinos — Wilfredo Bautista, Antonio Alvesa, Sergio Al—dana and Miguel Fernandez Jr. — are still being tried in the murder case.

The case involves the killing of laundryman Jaime de la Cruz who was found dead with multiple stab wounds in his quarters at the Al-Hada Armed Forces Hospital in Taif last January.

De la Cruz had just collected the 270,000 riyals he won in an underground lottery on the day he was murdered.

Last July 1, the DFA sent a shariah law appellate court justice, Saaduddin Alauya, to Jeddah to represent the six Filipino accused. — Pia Lee-Brago