Cedric Lee transferred to New Bilibid Prison

Businessman Cedric Lee has been transferred to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on Friday evening, according to the report of Jamie Santos on "Saksi."

He was brought to the NBP in Muntinlupa around 9 p.m. by operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Quezon City.

Lee, Deniece Cornejo and two others were found guilty by a Taguig court for serious illegal detention for ransom, a case that was filed against them by actor-TV host Vhong Navarro.

Lee surrendered to the NBI on Thursday evening, several hours after the court sentenced them to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years imprisonment.

Simeon Raz was earlier brought the NBP while Cornejo was brought to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.

At the NBP, Lee was brought to the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) where he was formally transferred by the NBI.

Lee remained silent during the processing of his documents. The NBI doctor who examined him earlier also informed NBP personnel that he had high blood pressure earlier.

Earlier, Lee said he was confident of the outcome of an appeal they plan to file. He reiterated that there was no illegal detention that occurred. 

"The most, nagkasakitan, nagkabugbugan dahil nang-rape siya [Vhong]. Hindi naman dapat masentensiyahan ng life imprisonment," he said.

(The most [that happened] was physical injuries because he committed rape. The court should not have given the sentence of life imprisonment.)

In 2014, Lee and his group were accused of holding Navarro captive and inflicting serious physical injuries against him.

In finding Lee and his group guilty, the Regional Trial Court said it found it unusual that the accused gathered in one place with a police officer a few hours before Navarro and Cornejo intended to meet up.

It said that the accused initially concealed that their meeting place was in Ritz Towers and changed their testimonies after seeing the CCTV footage from the tower.

Further, the Court said that the alleged rape of Cornejo was also part of the scheme.

In March 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed the case of rape and acts of lasciviousness against Navarro due to lack of evidence. — BAP/KG, GMA Integrated News