Four Hong Kong people were involved in a drug manufacturing and possession case in the Philippines in 2016. After more than two years of trial, they were sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of drug possession.
The four people applied to the court for review and appeal. The latest progress came after 6 years. The court of appeal ruled that three of them, Lu Ronghui, Chen Guodong and Guo Jinhua, were granted justice and were released and returned to Hong Kong today (6th), while the remaining one The defendant Liang Shufu upheld the original sentence.
According to the judgment of the court of appeal obtained by "Hong Kong 01", there is not enough evidence to show that the three people including Lu were conspiring to commit the crime, but they continued to believe that Liang Shufu was guilty, so they were acquitted and released.
Liang Shufu, who is in prison, has appealed to the court and is expected to appeal to the local Supreme Court.
In July 2016, four Hong Kong residents were involved in a maritime drug manufacturing case in the Philippines.
At that time, senior Philippine police officers led a large number of journalists to carry out the arrest operation.
(Philippine police photo)
Four people were imprisoned in the local prison. The prison environment was harsh, including more than a hundred people competing for the toilet, and six people sharing a bed.
(profile picture)
The case is full of doubts, and the 4 people appealed for injustice in prison
The incident occurred in July 2016. Four Hong Kong residents, Lu Ronghui, Liang Shufu, Chen Guodong and Guo Jinhua, were accused of producing and hiding drugs on a fishing boat in the waters of Subic Bay in the Philippines. The Philippine police pointed out that they were in a blue bag belonging to Liang Shufu , Searched for suspected methamphetamine.
The four have been detained there since then. The interrogation lasted more than two years, and the case was full of doubts. The defense presented a lot of evidence and doubts in the court, including the presence of reporters at the scene and providing clips, showing that the Philippine police did not find drugs in the first bag search. , and there are contradictions in the testimony of prosecution witnesses.
However, the trial was repeatedly delayed by the prosecution, and the judge received death threats during the trial.
As of December 2018, the local court acquitted four Hong Kong residents of drug production and drug possession. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of 5 million pesos (equivalent to approximately HK$740,000).
4 people appealed for grievances after learning of the verdict. Among them, Liang Shufu said, "You wouldn't admit it even if you cut me off! I really never did it. The whole world knows it's a fake thing. It's okay to wrong us. Convicted, what do you think this court is doing, what country is this from?"
The four families initiated crowdfunding after returning to Hong Kong and applied for a review of the case, but in 2019 the local court announced that the original judgment was upheld.
The four then appealed again until February 23 last year when the appeal was issued. Three of them, Lu Ronghui, Chen Guodong, and Guo Jinhua, were ruled to have appealed, while the other defendant, Liang Shufu, upheld the original verdict.
The 3 people returned to Hong Kong this morning and arrived at the airport pick-up hall, the second from the left: Guo Jinhua, the first from the right: Lu Ronghui, and the second from the right: Chen Guodong.
(Provided by Tu Jinshen)
Philippine drug case in Hong Kong︱3 people arrive in Hong Kong to reunite with their families to thank citizens for their concern and hope that Liang Shufu will be released soon Sentenced to life imprisonment, 3 people successfully appealed and deported to Hong Kong this morning
Court of Appeal only admits 3 people without conspiracy
According to the content of the judgment of the Philippine Court of Appeal, the defense pointed out a number of errors in the trial judgment, including:
1) The district court seriously neglected in the first instance that the Philippine police did not obtain a search warrant and provide an interpreter to the defendant during the arrest and search operation that day, nor did they read out the defendant's Miranda Rights, which infringed his rights
2) The court did not consider the strong evidence of the defense, but instead accepted the testimony of the two police officers who testified as credible
3) The court erroneously ruled that the chain of custody of the exhibits in the case was complete and that the seized drugs were properly preserved
iv) The court erroneously ruled that the conspiracy charges against the 4 defendants were established beyond a reasonable doubt
5) The court wrongly concluded that the 4 people went to the Philippines to take over the fishing boats and continue to traffic in methamphetamine
However, in the judgment of the upper court, only the fourth point raised by the defense was accepted, that is, the accusation that the four defendants conspired to commit the crime was not established.
It was mentioned in the judgment that the court was satisfied with the prosecution that Liang Shufu was accused of illegally possessing the methamphetamine in the case, and that reasonable doubts had been ruled out, including that Liang had admitted that the backpack allegedly contained methamphetamine belonged to him, and that when the Philippine police testified Point out personal items such as clothes, toothbrushes, etc. that contain Liang in the backpack.
However, for the other 3 people, Lu Ronghui, Chen Guodong and Guo Jinhua, there was not enough evidence to show that the 3 people had conspired to commit the crime, including the inability to prove that the 3 people had actual possession, contact and knowledge of the drugs found in Liang Shufu's backpack. The court sentenced the 3 people to acquittal , while Liang Shufu upheld the original judgment.
Liang Shufu (second from right), still in prison, has lodged a final appeal.
(Reuters)
Liang Shufu's Final Appeal
Tu Jinshen, a former member of the Legislative Council of the Democratic Party who has been following up the incident, said that Liang Shufu, who is still in prison, has appealed to the court and is expected to appeal to the local Supreme Court, but has not yet received a reply from the court.
The other three people who were released returned to Hong Kong by plane this morning, and issued a statement to express their gratitude to the central government and the Hong Kong government, as well as the Hong Kong people who cared about them. He can also be freed and reunited with his family as soon as possible.
[Hong Kong Philippine drug manufacturing case] The four letters from the prison family are desolate and full of grievances and tears: so uncomfortable!
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