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US Vs Ah Sing

The defendant, a Chinese national working as a fireman on a steamship, purchased eight cans of opium in Saigon and brought them on board during the ship's voyage from Saigon to Cebu. When the ship arrived in Cebu, authorities found the opium hidden on board. The defendant confessed to owning the opium but did not say he intended to illegally import it. The court ruled the defendant guilty of illegally importing opium into the Philippines, as the opium was found under his control on a ship arriving directly from a foreign country within Philippine jurisdiction.

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287 views2 pages

US Vs Ah Sing

The defendant, a Chinese national working as a fireman on a steamship, purchased eight cans of opium in Saigon and brought them on board during the ship's voyage from Saigon to Cebu. When the ship arrived in Cebu, authorities found the opium hidden on board. The defendant confessed to owning the opium but did not say he intended to illegally import it. The court ruled the defendant guilty of illegally importing opium into the Philippines, as the opium was found under his control on a ship arriving directly from a foreign country within Philippine jurisdiction.

Uploaded by

Mara Lacsamana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

G.R. No.

L-13005 | October 10, 1917


THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. AH SING, defendant-appellant.
Objective: Appeal from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Cebu finding the
defendant guilty of a violation of section 4 of Act No. 2381 (the Opium Law)
Facts:

The defendant is a subject of China employed as a fireman on the steamship


Shun Chang. The Shun Chang is a foreign steamer which arrived at the port of
Cebu on April 25, 1917, after a voyage direct from the port of Saigon.

The defendant bought eight cans of opium in Saigon, brought them on board
the steamship, and had them in his possession during the trip from Saigon to
Cebu. When the steamer anchored in the port of Cebu on April 25, 1917, the
authorities on making a search found the eight cans of opium hidden in the ashes
below the boiler of the steamer's engine.

The defendant confessed that he was the owner of this opium, and that he
had purchased it in Saigon. He did not say that it was his intention to import the
prohibited drug into the Philippine Islands.

No other evidence direct or indirect, to show that the intention of the accused
was to import illegally this opium into the Philippine Islands, was introduced.

Issue: Whether or not the crime of illegal importation of opium into the Philippine
Islands has been proven
Ruling: Yes, the crime of illegal importation of opium is proven. There was illegal
importation of opium from a foreign country into the Philippine Islands.
Rationale:

Section 4 of Act No. 2381 begins, "Any person who shall unlawfully import or
bring any prohibited drug into the Philippine Islands." "Import" and "bring" are
synonymous terms. The Federal Courts of the United States have held that the
mere act of going into a port, without breaking bulk, is prima facie evidence of
importation.

As applied to the Opium Law, [the Court] expressly holds that any person
unlawfully imports or brings any prohibited drug into the Philippine Islands, when
the prohibited drug is found under this person's control on a vessel which has
come direct from a foreign country and is within the jurisdictional limits of the
Philippine Islands.

The Court accordingly finds that there was illegal importation of opium from a
foreign country into the Philippine Islands. To anticipate any possible
misunderstanding, let it be said that these statements do not relate to foreign
vessels in transit, a situation not present.

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