Inmate gets 14 years for drug possession

An inmate at the Cebu City Jail found himself facing another 14 years behind bars after the court found him guilty of possessing 49 packs of shabu while inside the jail for a separate case three years ago.

Judge Silvestre Maamo of the Regional Trial Court Branch 17 said Elbert Bejec’s defense of denial “is intrinsically a weak defense.”

Jail guards said they found the 49 packs of shabu in Bejec’s quarters on October 12, 2004 but Bejec vehemently denied such claim.

He said they might have slid from the detention cell beside his. Police also found two tin foils and three plastic packets with traces of the substance.

“Denial of the accused cannot prevail over the positive declaration of the prosecution witness,” Maamo said. — Jasmin R. Uy/JMO