CA keeps Delfin Lee in jail

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals 1st Division on Thursday junked businessman Delfin Lee's petition to be released from police custody as he questioned the legal basis for his arrest.

The appellate court rejected Lee's five-page urgent petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which argued that the arrest warrant issued by the Pampanga Regional Trial Court was recalled in November 2013.

Lee faces charges of syndicated estafa for allegedly defrauding the Pag-IBIG Fund of P6.6 billion through "double-selling" of houses in Pampanga. He was nabbed in a hotel in Manila last Thursday, ending his two years of hiding.

The CA decision came after the Supreme Court's temporary restraining order on Wednesday against the appellate court's earlier motion to lift Lee's case and arrest warrant.

Read: SC stops CA ruling lifting Delfin Lee's arrest

The CA summoned the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to bring Lee before the court on Wednesday. It also ordered the agencies to justify Lee's detention.