PEOPLE v.

WONG CHUEN MING

256 SCRA 182 (1996)

Topic: Confessions (BURDEN OF PROOF IN CRIMINAL CASES; ACCUSED-APPELLANT GUILT, MUST BE

PROVED BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT)
Legend:
2 British nationals = Wong Chuen Ming and Au Wing Cheung
Customs Collector = Zenaida Bonifacio
NARCOM Officer = Captain Rustico Francisco

Question:
A group of tourists arrived in NAIA (2 were British nationals and 7 were Malaysian nationals) and after
obtaining clearance from immigration officers at the NAIA, they went to the baggage claim area to retrieve
their respective checked-in baggages.

Upon checking, a total of 30 boxes of Alpen Cereals containing white crystalline substance were allegedly
recovered from the baggages of the 11 accused.

A Customs Collector ordered them to sign on the masking tape placed on the boxes allegedly recovered from
their respective baggages.

At CAMP Crame, a NARCOM Officer immediately informed the 11 accused that they were under arrest and
were asked to identify their signatures on the boxes and after having identified them, they were again made
to sign on the plastic bags containing white crystalline substance inside the boxes bearing their signatures.

The Regional Trial Court of Pasay City found the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section
15, Article III of Republic Act 6425, as amended, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972; and
sentenced each to life imprisonment and a fine of P20,000.00. The 2 British nationals appealed.

Are the signatures of the accused on the boxes, as well as on the plastic bags containing "shabu" admissible
in evidence?

Suggested Answer:
NO

The law provides that any evidence wrongfully obtained from the accused in violation of their constitutional
rights is inadmissible against them. The fact that all accused are foreign nationals does not preclude
application of the "exclusionary rule" because the constitutional guarantees embodied in the Bill of Rights
are given and extend to all persons, both aliens and citizens.

In the instance case, by affixing their signatures on the boxes of Alpen Cereals and on the plastic bags,
accused in effect made a tacit admission of the crime charged for mere possession of "shabu" is punished by
law. These signatures of accused are tantamount to an uncounselled extra-judicial confession which is not
sanctioned by the Bill of Rights (Section 12[1][3], Article III, 1987 Constitution).

Therefore, the signatures of the accused on the boxes, as well as on the plastic bags containing "shabu"
admissible in evidence
A group of tourists arrived in NAIA (2 were British nationals and 7 were Malaysian nationals) and after
obtaining clearance from immigration officers at the NAIA, they went to the baggage claim area to retrieve
their respective checked-in baggages.