After being dismissed, the “ghost dialysis” scam charges against WellMed owner Dr. Bryan Christopher Sy have been re-filed before the proper court in Quezon City.
National Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Vicente de Guzman III confirmed that the charges were refiled last week after Judge Janey Abergos-Samar of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 219 granted the motion of Sy to quash the charges against him “for lack of jurisdiction.”
“The case that was dismissed by RTC court in QC was refiled by the National Prosecution Service this time with the Metropolitan Trial Court which is the proper court,” disclosed De Guzman.
“The reason why it was dismissed by RTC is the case cognizable by the Metropolitan Trial Court,” he explained.
Sy is facing 17 counts of estafa through falsification of public documents in connection with the ghost dialysis scam.
Also charged with Sy are whistleblowers Edwin Roberto and Liezel Aileen de Leon, both former employees of WellMed and are currently provisionally accepted under the Witness Protection Program as they are set to become state witnesses.
In a resolution issued last Aug. 5, Samar explained that the charges should have been filed before the MeTC since the maximum imposable penalty is six years.
The magistrate explained the amounts that PhilHealth were allegedly defrauded only ranged from P5,200 to P39,000, and that the maximum imposable penalty for estafa under the Revised Penal Code was jail time of two months and one day to six months, while for falsification of public or official documents by a private individual carries a maximum penalty of two years, four months, and one day to six years imprisonment.
As such, the cases do not fall under the purview of the regional trial court. (Jeffrey Damicog)
