Singson sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison

'Chavit' expects son to resign from post
HONG KONG - A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson to one year and six months in prison for illegal drug possession.

Singson had earlier pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.

District Court Judge Joseph Yau described the prison term as a serious fall from grace for Singson, a politician and music promoter, who was caught with drugs at Hong Kong's international airport last year.

Earlier this year, the colourful 42-year-old Singson admitted to bringing 6.67 grams of pure cocaine and two tablets of the narcotic Nitrazepam into the city on July 11, 2010. A vial of cocaine was found in his underwear.

"The defendant imported a substantial amount of cocaine into Hong Kong," Judge Yau told the packed courtroom, adding that Singson was a respected politician whose family has substantial wealth.

"However, he does not treasure what he has and indulges in dangerous drugs."

The judge said he took into account Singson's guilty plea, previous good character, clear criminal record, and the fact he had not planned to re-sell the drugs before handing down his sentence.

'Nervous and remorseful'

Before his sentencing, Singson told reporters he was "very nervous" and "remorseful," and hoped for a light jail term.

Yau later said Singson had "asked for" a prison term by smuggling drugs into the southern Chinese territory, which regularly hands out stiff sentences to traffickers.

"It is the view of the court that there is a latent risk that the cocaine might fall into the hands of others" Yau said, adding that the threat was "substantial."

Hong Kong laws state that anyone bringing dangerous drugs into the city could be convicted of trafficking.

In an interview with ANC, Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson, who was with his son when the decision was heard, said the sentence could still be reduced to less than a year depending on his good behavior.

It will now be up to the custodial officer to determine if Singson will be given such leeway. His stay in prison during the previous months will also be factored in.

Prudent not to appeal

A report from ABS-CBN News correspondent Henry Omaga Diaz said the family will no longer appeal the case to a higher court out of prudence. A loss in a higher court could mean a longer sentence for Singson.

The governor, in the same ANC interview, said he just allowed the lawyers to defend his son. “They said the sentence would be reduced, that’s what the lawyers are now trying to do. I did not meddle anymore.”

Besides the governor, Singson’s mother and girlfriend were also around.

After the decision was read, the family was quoted as saying, “No one is above the law.”

Yao had decided on Wednesday that Singson did not intend to sell nor share the drugs that were found in his possession.

The judge thus ruled that the cocaine found in Singson's possession on July 11, 2010 was for personal use and not for commerce.

Singson to resign

The governor also expects his son to resign following the judge’s decision.

He said his son had been mouthing the same even before the decision was handed down.

“Even before the verdict, he has decided already. He just did not want to act ahead of the decision, it will be bad for the case,” he said.

He twitted Singson’s colleagues in the House of Representatives who have been calling for his resignation even before the proceedings have begun.

“Even if he is not convicted, I already told him before to resign, out of delicadeza,” he stressed.

The governor stressed that the family already had Singson’s peers investigated. The family maintains he was double-crossed.

“We already had them investigated. The others are already in jail. This should also be the case in the Philippines. Our government is not strict there. The manufacturers should be the one killed or sentenced to imprisonment,” he added.

Drugs-and-gambling binge

Singson, whose business interests include the music station Channel V in the Philippines, faced a maximum life sentence and fine of up HK$5 million ($640,000).

Singson previously told the court he went on a drugs-and-gambling binge after arguing with his girlfriend at a concert in Manila. He was arrested while on his way to Macau for a poker tournament.

Addiction experts who testified at Singson's sentencing hearing earlier this month disagreed on whether the politician had a serious drug habit, but his lawyer has insisted he was deeply involved in cocaine abuse.

"He is not a commercial trafficker but a person who has become dependent on drugs. A person who needs help instead of being incarcerated," Singson's lawyer John Reading told the court this week.

The legislator is one of seven children by an estranged wife of Gov. Chavit Singson, one of the most controversial political figures in the Philippines.

source: abs-cbn