Cedric Lee surrenders to NBI
BUSINESSMAN Cedric Lee voluntarily surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Thursday night, hours after a Taguig court found him, Deniece Cornejo, and two others guilty of serious illegal detention.
NBI director Medardo de Lemos said that his agents took custody of Lee in Mandaluyong City at 7:30 p.m. after he communicated his intention to surrender.
He was subsequently brought to the NBI headquarters in Quezon City at 8 p.m. where his mug shot and fingerprints were taken.
Businessman Cedric Lee. File PhotoLee said he decided to surrender while his lawyers prepared his appeal before the appellate court.
He said they would «appeal and exhaust all legal remedies» as he maintained that no illegal detention of television host and movie actor Ferdinand «Vhong» Navarro took place because no single element of the said crime was present.
Lee claimed they never detained Navarro for more than a day and they never inflicted serious injuries.
AdvertisementIn a 94-page decision, Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 153 Presiding Judge Mariam Bien found Lee, Cornejo, Ferdinand Guerrero and Simeon Palma Raz Jr. guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of serious illegal detention with ransom filed by Navarro in 2014
Judge Bien sentenced the four to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years jail time.
During the promulgation, only Cornejo and Guerrero were present.
The RTC immediately canceled the bail posted for their provisional liberty and ordered them committed to jail.
AdvertisementThe RTC also ordered the convict to pay Navarro P100,000 in civil indemnity, P100,000 in moral damages, and P100,000 in exemplary damages with an interest rate of 6 percent per annum from the finality of the judgment until fully paid.
Lee and two of his male co-accused will be incarcerated in a prison facility outside of the New Bilibid Prison, said Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. since the NBP is no longer accepting new inmates.
Catapang pointed out that a decongestion program is currently in full swing at the NBP, which has long been overcrowded.
He said he has ordered the NBP chief to determine where they
