Richard Tan, aka Chen Ju Long and Richard Chen . INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Businessman Chen Ju Long also known as Richard Tan, one of the respondents in the case of the P6.4-billion crystal meth shipment that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC), denied that he had bribed an Immigration official when he tried to leave the country, his lawyer said聽Saturday.
鈥淩ichard Tan has not bribed any immigration officials supposedly to leave the country,鈥� Tan鈥檚 legal counsel, Abraham Gutoc, said in a statement.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said聽on Thursday聽that Tan, which was included in a lookout bulletin order in connection with the case, tried to pay immigration officials when he tried to leave the country in November.
Tan聽is the owner of the warehouse in Valenzuela City where the smuggled P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China was found.
搁贰础顿:听Shabu shipment suspect Richard Tan tried to bribe Immigration 鈥� Aguirre
Gutoc, however, said Tan 鈥渄id not intend to abscond and escape Philippine jurisdiction.鈥�
He said that Tan, a businessman, is a freight forwarder and has regular trips abroad. And on the mentioned date, he was scheduled for a business trip in China but refused to depart by Immigration officials 鈥渂ecause he was told that his name was included by the Department of Justice in the Immigration look out bulletin.鈥�
鈥淎fter said refusal, he has not tried to leave for abroad again,鈥� Gutoc explained.
The lawyer said that if his client were able to leave the country, 鈥渉e has all the intentions of returning to the Philippines since this is where his family and businesses are situated.鈥�
鈥淗is life is here in the Philippines. Moreover, he didn鈥檛 even know that he is required to get a clearance from the Department of Justice [DOJ] to travel abroad since neither a hold departure order issued by a court or a warrant has been issued against him,鈥� Gutoc said.
鈥淎gain, he didn鈥檛 even know that he was placed in the immigration look out bulletin as this was done by the DOJ unilaterally without informing him,鈥� he added.
He also pointed out that on December 11, 2017, Tan went to the DOJ and submitted his counter-affidavit in relation to the case filed against him by the BOC.
鈥淎gain, Richard Tan is the whistleblower in this incident and if not for him, the drugs concealed and illegally imported to the Philippines would not have been discovered,鈥� Gutoc said. /jpv