January 5, 2002, The Philippine Star, DFA Hits Chinese Embassy Over Business Woman Jacky Tiu Kidnap Case, by Pia Lee-Brago,

January 5, 2002, The Philippine Star, DFA Hits Chinese Embassy Over Business Woman Jacky Tiu Kidnap Case, by Pia Lee-Brago, 

Manila,  (STAR)  - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) chided the Chinese embassy yesterday for pressuring a government prosecutor into downgrading from principal to accessory the charges against two mainland Chinese nationals accused of kidnapping.

Victoriano Lecaros, DFA spokesman, said it was "inapproriate" for Chinese embassy officials to say that Zhang Xiwang and Zhang Du were innocent of charges that they had taken part with five compatriots in kidnapping Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Jacky Rowena Tiu in San Fernando, La Union in September last year.

"It is inapproriate to say that," he said. "Justice Secretary (Hernando) Perez was right that it is not for anyone but the court to determine the innocense or guilt (of their nationals)."

The 29-year-old Tiu, a resident of San Fernando City, was freed by the kidnappers after her family, which runs a hardware store in La Union, paid a P10-million ransom.

In a diplomatic note sent on Oct. 29 last year, the Chinese embassy asked the DFA to have the Zhangs "released as soon as possible" as its officials are convinced that they were innocent and got involved in the kidnapping without their knowledge.

"During our interview, the other five suspects testified before our consuls that the above-mentioned two (Zhang Xiwang and Zhang Du) were not aware of the kidnapping and did not know whatever they had done," read the diplomatic note.

"The Chinese embassy is convinced that Mr. Zhang Du and Mr. Zhang Xiwang are innocent and therefore requests the Philippine side to have them released as soon as possible."

On the strength of the diplomatic note, San Fernando City Assistant Prosecutor Oscar Corpus was said to have downgraded the charges against the Zhangs from principal to accessory, which allowed each of them to post a P100,000 bail before the San Fernando City Regional Trial Court.

The Zhangs later jumped bail and fled the country.

Thereafter, Tiu complained at the justice department that the Chinese embassy had been meddling in the case to have the Zhangs freed.

Perez told reporters yesterday a request from an embassy cannot qualify as evidence and that the Chinese embassy cannot decide the guilt or innocense of the suspected kidnappers.

The (diplomatic note) is not an evidence," he said. "It was just a request, Besides, it’s a conspiracy where the act of one is the act of all."

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño told reporters Corpuz will not be administratively charged until the justice department had determined whether his action was justified or not.

"We will evaluate the evidence first, whether the evidence really warranted for the charge of accessory," he said. "A reinvestigation is scheduled on Jan. 11. We want (Corpus) to turn over the records (of the Tiu case) to the DOJ."

However, Zuño said Corpus told him he "never received" a diplomatic note from the Chinese embassy requesting that the charges against the Zhangs be downgraded from principal to accessory.

"In most kidnapping cases handled by prosecutors, very seldom do they recommend bail or downgrade the kidnapping charges because it is a syndicated crime that is always carried out by conspiring kidnappers," he said.

Wang Luo, Chinese embassy spokesman, said in a statement yesterday the embassy was "only exercising its legal rights and responsibilities under international law" when it extended consular assistance to the Zhangs.

"The action taken by the embassy on the case of the (Zhangs) is accorded by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to protect the legal and justified interests of (our) nationals," read the statememt. — With reports from Delon Porcalla, Aurea Calica