Court denies motion to dismiss kidnapping charges

CEBU, Philippines - Regional Trial Court Branch 25 Judge Ma. Lynna Adviento denied the motion to dismiss filed by three Filipinos and a Korean national charged with kidnapping for ransom.

Aurellano Bulabon, Gregorio Dealagdon, Richard Dealagdon and Song

Sung Heum earlier filed a motion to dismiss the said case and attached the affidavit of desistance executed by the complainants, Jun Hyung Chung and his girlfriend

Charise Santiago.

In their affidavit of desistance, the complainants who are residents of Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, asked the court to dismiss the case and said the incident occurred out of miscommunication.

“After mulling over the incidents, we need to rectify material allegations stated in the complaint. We humbly submit that this instant case was a mere product of misunderstanding and communication between the accused and us,” they complainants said and pointed out that they are no longer interested in pursuing the case.

However, in her two-page order, Adviento denied the motion citing the affidavit of desistance was not a ground for the dismissal of the case.

“If a private crime, which cannot be prosecuted without the complaint of the offended party, cannot be dismissed based on an affidavit of desistance by the offended party, with more reason that the instant case, a public crime, cannot be dismissed by an affidavit of desistance executed by the private complainants after the institution of the action,” the order reads.

Adviento added the complainants were not presented before the court to identify their affidavit. Reportedly, complainants left for South Korea.

Adviento resumed the hearing of the motion to post bail on February 18, 2013, and the pre-trial is set for February 19, 2013 all at 8:30 a.m. The parties and their counsels are directed to attend the preliminary conference dated February 18, 2013, at 2:00 p.m., for the marking of documents and presentation of evidence.

In their complaint, Chung and Santiago claimed that on October 24, 2012, they were kidnapped by the three Filipino accused inside their residence and force to board a vehicle.

However, in their affidavit of desistance, the two withdrew their statements citing they accompanied the three Filipino accused out of their free will and said none of the accused “were violent” to them.

They added that the accused did not demand money from them contrary to their earlier statements. 

“Other than for reasons above-stated, we find no reason to proceed with prosecuting the case because in the first place we do not have sufficient evidence, testimonial or documentary, for in truth we were not kidnapped at all,” the affidavit of desistance reads.

Upon executing their affidavit of desistance, the two said there were not threatened nor intimated with any monetary consideration. (FREEMAN)