G.R. No. L-7428, November 12, 1912
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. LIM SING alias LIM SIN, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Lim Sing, a Chinese alien, was convicted for smoking opium in violation of Act No. 1761 (the Opium Law). The evidence established that he was a recidivist, having been previously convicted of a similar offense. The trial court found him guilty and ordered his deportation from the Philippine Islands under Section 32 of Act No. 1761 , as amended, which allowed deportation for a second offense if the offender was not a U.S. or Philippine citizen. The Solicitor-General noted that Lim Sing had a native wife and child in Iloilo with whom he was living at the time of his arrest and suggested that deportation might be excessive under the circumstances.

ISSUE

Whether the penalty of deportation imposed on Lim Sing for his second conviction of opium smoking is proper under the circumstances.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. It held that while the law granted courts wide discretion in imposing penalties for violations of the Opium Law, including deportation for a second offense by an alien, such discretion must not be exercised arbitrarily. The primary legislative intent was to suppress the vice as a public evil. The Court distinguished between mere users of opium and those who exploit the vice for profit, noting that heavier penalties (including imprisonment and fines) were typically imposed on the latter. For mere users, especially first offenders, the minimum penalty was often applied.

In this case, Lim Sing was convicted only of smoking opium (personal use) and not of trafficking. As a domiciled alien with a family in the Philippines, deportation would cause disproportionate hardship, separating him from his wife and child and ruining his livelihood, without a showing of contumacious defiance or that he was fomenting the vice. The Court found no exceptionally compelling reasons to warrant such a severe penalty. However, as a second offender, he deserved a more severe penalty than a first-time offender. Accordingly, the Court sentenced him to three months imprisonment and a fine of ₱300, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, instead of deportation.