Arraignment for 6 Chinese moved anew to Nov. 24

THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 moved again the arraignment for the six Chinese nationals accused of distributing fake cigarettes in Davao City next week.

Presiding Judge Retrina Fuentes of the RTC Branch 10 scheduled the arraignment on November 24, Friday, at 10 a.m. as the accused need an interpreter.

Yuequn Shi, owner of a cigarette warehouse in Buhangin, is charged with five counts of trademark infringement, five counts of unfair competition, five counts false designation of origin, false description, and intellectual property code.

His relatives—Chun Qun, Mei Qun, Jian Qun, Tian Pei and Lian Zai, all surnamed Shi, were also charged with six counts of trademark infringement, six counts of unfair competition and six counts of false designation of origin and false description.

According to the court, the defense counsel will have to look for another interpreter for the accused, as the previous

interpreter they hired has a problem dealing with the accused who are not familiar with English and Filipino languages.

The six accused were arrested by the members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Davao last July 21, following the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation Inc. complaint over the proliferation of fake roll-ups. ICT