Court of Appeals (File photo)
MANILA – The Court of Appeals (CA) denied the petition by a widow who sued her late Singaporean husband’s Filipino partner for falsifying papers to sell the man’s condominium units.
The CA turned down the appeal by Lim Lee Min, questioning the decision of the Makati City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 62 which acquitted her late husband’s lover for falsification.
The widow said her late husband, Chan Loy Choi, with whom she had three children, had an illicit affair with Cherry and lived with her in the Philippines.
Among the properties acquired by the man at the time were condominium units in Pasay City.
After he died in 2015 and while settling his estate, the widow discovered that titles to the properties were canceled following a Deed of Absolute Sale (DOAS) between her husband and Cherry.
The DOAS was supposedly signed months after the man’s death.
The CA said in its decision released Monday that “the prosecution failed to prove that Chan Loy Choi’s signature in the notarized deed of absolute sale was falsified” and the widow “merely alleged that it was impossible for Chan to have executed the same, and did not present any evidence to support her contention that such falsification was committed by Cherry herself.”
“It is already well-settled that nothing less than proof beyond reasonable doubt is required to support a judgment of conviction. While the law does not require absolute certainty, the evidence presented by the prosecution must produce in the mind of the court a moral certainty of the accused’s guilt,” the CA ruled. (PNA)
