THE Justice Department on Sunday defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to arrest Chinese gaming tycoon Jack Lam, despite the absence of a warrant from a court.
“Economic sabotage is a continuing offense, thus there could be a warrantless arrest,” said Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who said Lam was running an illegal online casino inside his Fontana Leisure Park and Casino Hotel in Clark Freeport in Pampanga.
The rules of court generally require an arrest warrant be issued by a court before the authorities can apprehend an individual accused of a crime. The same rules, however, provide for warrantless arrest in cases of continuing crimes, or when the suspect is caught in the act of committing a crime.
Aguirre said that while warrantless arrest could be valid for economic sabotage, he could not say if the same would apply to the bribery charges against Lam.
Immigration records show that Lam left the country November 29, or four days after 1,316 Chinese nationals were arrested for operating an online casino in Fontana without the necessary permit from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
It was unclear, however, if he has returned.
Last week, Aguirre revealed a supposed attempt of Lam’s camp to bribe Pagcor Chairwoman Andrea Domingo to allow Fontana to continue its online gaming operations while applying for a license in exchange for a one-percent commission from the income of the gaming operations.
Aguirre said Lam also met with him through mediation of former police general-turned-poker legend Wally Sombero, who asked if he could be the “ninong” (godfather or protector) of the Chinese businessman, believed to be biggest online gambling operator in Macau.
Aguirre said he did not see a basis to charge or arrest Lam or Sombero because there was no overt act of bribery during their meeting.
Nonetheless, he said he would leave it to other government agencies to investigate the illegal casino operations in Lam’s Fontana.
Lam’s lawyer Raymond Fortun denied the bribery charges in a press conference Friday.
He said the meeting between Lam and Aguirre on November 26 lasted only for five to 10 minutes and his client was not even able to speak a word.
The lawyer said Lam was not aware of whatever Sombero told Aguirre during the meeting and that his client “had no reason to bribe anyone as his operations are legitimate.”
Fortun said Fontana casino has an existing license to conduct online gaming in the Clark Economic Zone, adding tht the Chinese workers were arrested for alleged violation of Philippine immigration laws and not for illegal online gambling.
The lawyer refused to comment on the arrest order against Lam.
Aguirre has already ordered the Bureau of Immigration to investigate the escape of 57 of the arrested Chinese from their temporary detention facility inside the same resort.
He cited information that the Chinese nationals offered P100,000 to P250,000 each for their release.
Of the 57 who escaped, a total of 31 have already returned to the bureau’s custody while 26 remained at large as of Sunday.
One of them denied allegations of bribery, according to the BI.
Liang Kun, 24, supposedly told BI officials with the aid of an interpreter that he just left their holding facility at the Fontana convention center last Wednesday, November 30, because he just wanted to go outside, take a shower and rest in the villa where he lived while working at the casino.