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US Vs Ching - Case Digest

Ah Sing, a Chinese fireman, was found with eight cans of opium hidden on his steamship when it arrived in Cebu, Philippines from Saigon. He admitted buying the opium in Saigon but did not state his intent for it. The court ruled that merely bringing a prohibited drug like opium into port constitutes illegal importation under Philippine law. As there was no evidence Ah Sing repeatedly transported opium between the two ports for personal use and the amount was too large, the only logical conclusion was he intended to import it into the Philippines illegally. Therefore, he was found guilty of this crime.

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119 views1 page

US Vs Ching - Case Digest

Ah Sing, a Chinese fireman, was found with eight cans of opium hidden on his steamship when it arrived in Cebu, Philippines from Saigon. He admitted buying the opium in Saigon but did not state his intent for it. The court ruled that merely bringing a prohibited drug like opium into port constitutes illegal importation under Philippine law. As there was no evidence Ah Sing repeatedly transported opium between the two ports for personal use and the amount was too large, the only logical conclusion was he intended to import it into the Philippines illegally. Therefore, he was found guilty of this crime.

Uploaded by

Kayee Kat
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
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US vs.

Ah Sing

Facts: Ah Sing 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. Ah Sing bought eight cans of
opium in Saigon, brought them on board the steamship Shun Chang, 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 above mentioned hidden in the ashes below the boiler of the steamer's engine.
Ah Sing confessed that he was the owner of this opium, and that he had purchased it in
Saigon. He did not confess, however, as to his purpose in buying the opium. 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: Has the crime of illegal importation of opium into the Philippine Islands been
proven?

Ruling: Yes. Section 4 of Act No. 2381 states that any person who shall unlawfully
import or bring any prohibited drug into the Philippine Islands. "Import" and "bring" are
synonymous terms. The mere act of going into a port, without breaking bulk, is prima
facie evidence of importation. The importation is not the making entry of goods at the
custom house, but merely the bringing them into port; and the importation is complete
before entry of the Custom House. As applied to the Opium Law, we expressly hold
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. In such case, a person is guilty of illegal importation of the drug
unless contrary circumstances exist or the defense proves otherwise. Applied to the
facts herein, it would be absurb to think that the accused was merely carrying opium
back and forth between Saigon and Cebu for the mere pleasure of so doing. It would
likewise be impossible to conceive that the accused needed so large an amount of
opium for his personal use. No better explanation being possible, the logical deduction
is that the defendant intended this opium to be brought into the Philippine Islands. We
accordingly find 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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