Ogami’s pal evades raps

An associate of alleged Japanese swindler Genta Ogami, who is facing charges, has evaded prosecution and has flown to Japan, it was learned yesterday.

Officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, led by director Vicente Aquino, learned of the flight when lawyer Perseveranda Abrenica who represents Ogami’s aide Motohiko Hagisaka revealed this in a preliminary hearing.

"The counter-affidavit of Mr. Hagisaka is a mere scrap of paper. His written explanation, which is written in Japanese characters, should be expunged from the records," Aquino told State Prosecutor Lagrimas Agaran.

Aquino stressed that a respondent in a criminal case undergoing preliminary hearing should personally appear and swear before the investigating fiscal to the authenticity of the contents of his defense. "This is a no-no in preliminary hearings," he stressed.

The BSP official countered it was ironic that Hagisaka fled the country despite the fact that he and 10 others were included in the hold departure list of the Bureau of Immigration. "There is no indication that he would be coming back," he said. –Delon Porcalla