A local judge yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment a man who sold shabu to a police poseur-buyer, and 14 years behind bars for a Manileño for possession of two marijuana cigarets.
Regional Trial Court Branch 30 Judge Rafael Crescencio Tan Jr. in Dumaguete City found Rengie Mananquil guilty beyond reasonable doubt of selling 0.02 gram of shabu in a buy-bust operation conducted more than three years ago.
Mananquil, who was ordered to pay a fine of P500,000, also tested positive for illegal drug use, court records show.
“As usual, the defense of the accused is predicated on bare denial which is considered as an inherently weak defense because it can easily be concocted and is a common standard line of defense in drugs cases,” Tan said.
Meanwhile, Jefferson Bravo Cruz, a native of Malabon City, Metro Manila, who came to Dumaguete City in 2009, was found guilty of marijuana possession and meted a maximum of 14 years in jail. He was also fined P400,000.
Cruz was nabbed in an entrapment operation in a local mall for a swindling case. A body search conducted on him, however, yielded two sticks of hand-rolled marijuana cigarets, court records also show.*JG
back to top |