Smith is impatient inside the US Embassy, says Philippine official

By Ronron
April 12, 2007

Convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith of the US Marine Corps (USMC) is getting impatient at the US Embassy where he is temporarily detained pending the review of the lifetime imprisonment sentence he got from a Makati City court for sexually assaulting a Filipino woman in November 2005.

This was disclosed Thursday by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Marius Corpus who is tasked, along with four other government officials, to make regular visits to Smith to assure he does not fly out of the country.

“I asked him how he is. He said he is quite bored because the case is taking time to be finally resolved,” Corpus recounted in Filipino his last conversation with Smith at the latter’s detention room at the US Embassy compound two weeks ago.

Smith was moved to the US Embassy located along Roxas Boulevard in Manila City last December 29, 2006 after the DILG agreed that the US can take him under its custody pending his final conviction by the higher courts.

His transfer from the Makati City Jail was done even without a court order.

Makati City Judge Benjamin Pozon found Smith guilty of raping a Filipino woman, identified in public as “Nicole,” last November 1, 2005 at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales province. The verdict was handed down last December 4, 2006.

Corpus said Smith kills the time while in detention by reading whatever reading materials is given to him.

But recently, Smith was in high spirits when his parents flew in from the United States middle of March and stayed with him for at least a week.

“It was the first time that his parents came because they have to save money for their fare,” Corpus said, adding that Smith’s father works only as a fireman in the US.

Corpus said he explained to Smith that the justice system in the country is really time-consuming so he really has to “wait for some time before the Court of Appeals resolves” the case with finality.

Except for the nicer room at the US Embassy compared to the prison cells in the country, Corpus said there is no special treatment given to Smith.

“The restriction to his actions, movements, his confinement are all the same (with other prisoners)… There is no special treatment,” Corpus said.

Corpus said they have to visit Smith at least twice a month at the US Embassy to “verify his continued presence” there./DMS