Woman gets 12 yrs. in jail for buying stolen necklace
A woman who bought a pawnshop receipt for a pawned necklace and redeemed it without knowing that the said item was stolen from her neighbor, was convicted for violating the anti-fencing law and sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Regional Trial Court Branch 20 Judge Bienvenido Saniel ruled that Ellen Mondares, a resident of barangay Mabolo,
The court also ordered Mondares to pay the complainant, Vivian Enriquez, P18,000 because she failed to return the jewelry after selling it to another person.
Saniel is hoping that his decision will be a lesson to those who have the habit of buying pawnshop receipts from anybody for a lower price and in exchange they will be the ones to redeem the pawned item.
Enriquez placed her 22-karat necklace in her jewelry box inside her room, but it was stolen by her nephew Ace Vincent Enriquez who confessed that he also sold the pawnshop receipt to Mondares.
When Enriquez confronted Mondares about it, the latter promised to return the necklace, but failed to comply with her promise despite repeated demands by the complainant.
Saniel said the evidence clearly shows that what was stolen was a necklace, while the item that was bought by Mondares was a pawnshop receipt, which was not stolen property.
It would seem, therefore that Mondares did not violate the anti-fencing law because the pawnshop receipt that she bought from the complainant’s nephew was not the subject of a robbery or thievery.
But Saniel ruled that it is clear in the whereas clauses of Presidential Decree 1612 that the intent of the law is to impose heavy penalties on persons who profit by the effects of the crimes of robbery and theft in order to curb robbery and thievery of government and private properties.
“Thus, in keeping with such intent, the court believes that the pawnshop ticket in question in this case falls within the phrase derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft,” Saniel ruled. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP
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