GR 36979; (November, 1932) (Digest)
G.R. No. 36979 ; November 23, 1932
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MIGUEL BENITO, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The defendant, Miguel Benito, was the cashier of the Davao branch of the International Harvester Company of the Philippines. His duties included receiving and receipting for money paid to the company and depositing it in the Philippine National Bank at Davao. During the period from November 1, 1930, to September 6, 1931, he received P59,486.06 but deposited only P44,486.05, leaving a balance of P15,000.01 unaccounted for. To conceal this misappropriation, he falsified bank reconciliation statements and a monthly bank statement and caused the disappearance of the company’s passbook and other bank statements from its files.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in convicting the accused of the complex crime of estafa through falsification of commercial documents.
RULING
No, the trial court erred in treating it as a complex crime, but the conviction for both separate crimes is proper. The Supreme Court held that the information charged two distinct crimes: estafa (misappropriation) and falsification of commercial documents. The falsification was not a means to commit the estafa but was done to conceal it. Therefore, they do not constitute a complex crime under Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code. By going to trial without objecting to the duplicitous information, the accused waived any defect, and he can be convicted of as many offenses as are charged and proven. The Court modified the judgment, finding the accused guilty of two separate crimes: (1) estafa, sentencing him to prision correccional and ordering indemnification; and (2) falsification of a commercial document, sentencing him to prision correccional and a fine.
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