Taiwanese national meted c for drug possession

The Paranaque Regional Trial Court (RTC) has sentenced to life imprisonment a Taiwanese national after he was found guilty of possessing methamphetamine hydrochloride or "shabu," considered a dangerous drug.

Paranaque RTC Branch 259 Judge Danilo Suarez found Chih Chien Yang, alias Jeff Yang, a Taiwanese national, guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violating Section 11, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 after finding in his possession 9.9 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

Aside from life imprisonment, the court also ordered Yang to pay a fine of P1,000,000.

Court records show that on April 19, 2008, operatives of Philippine National Police-Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (PNP-AIDSOTF) served and implemented a search and arrest warrant against Yang in his house at 19-B Humiliti St., Multinational Village, Paranaque City.

He was caught red handed in possession of 9.9 kilograms of shabu, a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effect, included in the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) list of dangerous drugs.

Meanwhile, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac Jr. is pleased over the decision of the court after four years of trial.

"The favorable rulings of the court on drug cases put the finishing touches to the efforts of law enforcement officers who risk life and limb in arresting drug personalities. To see drug offenders punished with the full force of the law is our ultimate yardstick of victory," the PDEA chief said. (PNA)