GR 36862; (February, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 36862 ; February 13, 1933
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. KAW LIONG (alias CO KING LIONG, KO LIONG, KING LIONG, KING BIO CO LIONG,) and YU SIONG (alias YU HAM BIN), defendants. KAW LIONG (alias CO KING LIONG), appellant.
FACTS
The appellant, Kaw Liong, and his co-accused were convicted of estafa by the municipal court of Manila for defrauding Sun Photo Supply of photographic film valued at P72 by falsely representing themselves as creditworthy merchants who would pay upon delivery. Kaw Liong appealed to the Court of First Instance, which also found him guilty. He was sentenced to three months and one day of arresto mayor and an additional penalty of ten years and one day of prision mayor as a habitual delinquent. The prosecution presented evidence that Kaw Liong had multiple prior convictions.
ISSUE
Whether the lower court correctly imposed the additional penalty for habitual delinquency under Act No. 3586 .
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. It held that prior convictions occurring on the same day should be counted as only one conviction for the purpose of determining habitual delinquency. Applying this rule, Kaw Liong’s prior convictions (eleven for estafa, five for theft, and three for attempted theft) were consolidated into seven distinct convictions. Under paragraph (d), section 1 of Act No. 3397 , as amended by Act No. 3586 , this warranted an additional penalty of not less than twenty-one years. The Court thus modified the sentence to three months and one day of arresto mayor and an additional penalty of twenty-one years of imprisonment.
AI Generated by Armztrong.