The accused were Pablito Domasian and Samson Tan, the latter then a resident physician in the hospital of the victim's parents. The victim was 8-year old Enrico Agra, who was detained by Domasian and brought to a far place. While they were boarding a tricycle, Domasian was firmly holding Enrico and the boy continued crying. This aroused the suspicion of the driver, and brought about the recovery of the boy even before the ransom notes reached the boy's parents.
Upon perusal of the note, Agra's father thought the handwriting was familiar so he compared it with some records in the hospital. It turned out that it was written by Dr. Tan. Both accused were convicted of conspiracy in kidnapping Agra.
Constitutional Issues :
1. Domasian contends that he was arrested without warrant, tortured and held incommunicado to extort a confession.
2. Dr. Tan raised that the hospital documents which was compared to the ransom notes were seized without a search warrant.
Ruling :
1. Domasian never made a confession.
2. The Bill of Rights cannot be invoked against acts of private individuals, being directed only against the government and its law-enforcement agencies and limitation on official action.
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