The Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasig City has found probable cause to indict Fujifilm Philippines officials Ryo Nagaoka, Evan Reyes and John Paul Camarillo and Fujifilm Healthcare Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.'s (Singapore) Anil Jacob John, Dinesh Mehra and Eric Koh for "other deceits" as penalized by Article 318 (1) of the Revised Penal Code.
This stemmed from the complaint filed by Sunfu Solutions, Inc. which accused Fujifilm officials of criminal fraud and deceit by issuing a First Tier Distributor Certificate dated 6 January 2022 which authorized Sunfu to distribute Fujifilm medical equipment for the OFW Hospital and Diagnostic Center in Pampanga but turned out to be false.
Pasig City prosecutors issued its resolutions dated 12 April 2022 and 15 August 2022 ruling that the evidence yields probable cause, saying that the "collective and communal actions " of accused Fujifilm officers constitute criminal deceit against Sunfu.
In the 12 April resolution, the City Prosecutor said that the Fujifilm officials made Sunfu believe that it enjoyed "First Tier Distributorship status," when it allegedly "intended to support the complainant's competitor."
The other resolution dated 15 August, meantime, stated that on account of its issuance of the First Tier Certificate, Fujifilm officials committed "misrepresentation" and employed "deceit and fraud" upon Sunfu, adding that Fujifilm officials "committed a fraud or deceit by means of omission" which concept includes "fraudulent nondisclosure" and "fraudulent concealment".
Fujifilm officials denied in their counter-affidavits the charges but the City Prosecutor held that "a defense of denial, being a negative defense, and uncorroborated by clear and convincing evidence deserves scant consideration and cannot be given greater evidentiary value than the allegation of complainant in a categorical and definite manner, absent of any ill motive must prevail over defenses of denial and alibi."
A criminal information has been filed with the Metropolitan Trial Court of Pasig City.
Sunfu Solutions has filed with the prosecutor's office a Motion for Reconsideration, arguing that the case against the accused should be upgraded to estafa under Art. 315(2) (a) of the penal code. The Fujifilm officers have sought suspension of the trial, as they claimed to have filed an appeal with the Department of Justice.
