THE Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) finds couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges.
The case was related to the abduction of three military officers and a staff member of the anti-narcotics command.
In an 18-page decision by QC RTC Branch 216 Presiding Judge Alfonso C. Ruiz II, the couple was sentenced to reclusion perpetua or up to 40-year imprisonment.
They were also ordered to pay complainant Lieutenant Abraham Claro Casis P75,000 moral damages; P75,000 in civil indemnity; and P75,000 exemplary damages.
The case stemmed from the abduction of Lieutenants Clariton Santos, Oscar Singson, Rommel Salamanca, and Abraham Casis of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Sergeant John Jacob of the Philippine Narcotics Command in Quezon province in 1988.
But the case against the couple was only filed in court in 2003.
“This court finds no reason to disbelieve the testimony of complainant considering that his narration of facts was straightforward, categorical and in accord with the natural course of things,” according to the court’s decision.