Manila: A fugitive ship’s captain has been sentenced by a Philippine court to serve at least eight years in jail for tax evasion.
Captain Lawrence John Burne was found guilty of dodging the payment of taxes for high-powered firearms that he brought into the country in 2009.
He was sentenced in absentia by the Court of Tax Appeals, Third Division for violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said.
The DoJ said Burne is a citizen of Georgia but independent reports claimed he was South African. He had been apprehended by Philippine authorities in 2009 but had jumped bail in 2011. He is now considered a fugitive from law.
Burne had figured in the 2009 smuggling of firearms from Indonesia. According to government sources, he was skipper of the Panamanian-registered freighter, MV Ufuk.
The vessel had tried to smuggle 100 units of Indonesian-made Pindad SS1 assault rifles as well as P2 pistols to the Port of Mariveles in Bataan near Manila, but was intercepted by Philippine authorities.
Justice Secretary Leila De Lima hailed Burne’s conviction.
“This is a warning to all those who want to harm the economy, those who want to deprive our country of rightful levies including customs duties and taxes worth millions. Smugglers, regardless of influence or economic stature, have no place in our society but in jails,” she said.
The tax appeals court said that in August 2009, Burne, who heads a crew of 13 Georgians, illegally imported and brought into the Philippines 20 wooden crates of Indonesian assault rifles on board the MV Ufuk from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Burne was apprehended by a team from the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard for alleged customs violations and for failure to produce necessary documents to support the cargo of the vessel.
He was detained by the Bureau of Immigration and posted a cash bail bond of P120,000 (Dhs 9,874) in 2011.
“Once an accused jumps bail, escapes from prison or confinement, or flees to a foreign country, he loses his standing in court and unless he surrenders or submits to the jurisdiction of the court, he is deemed to have waived any right to seek relief therefrom,” the court stressed in its decision.
Burne had earlier reasoned that he had only taken over as ship captain of the MV Ufuk from British national Bruce Jones. Jones had said that he had been forced to leave his ship at the nearest port at that time, which is Manila, as his wife was about to give birth.
“Burne cannot disown responsibility for the cargo that was on board the vessel at the time that he was in command as its master. He may have been merely a substitute or replacement captain, but at the time of the discovery of the smuggling, he was the only captain in command,” the court further said.
The Justice department said the court concluded that Burne’s guilt has been established beyond reasonable doubt and is guilty of committing unlawful importation.
Gulf News reported in 2009 that gunmaker PT Pindad denied that the firearms were illegal.
The Indonesian firm involved in the shipment said the weapons, particularly the assault rifles, were ordered by the Republic of Mali while the pistols had been ordered by a group of sports enthusiasts from the Philippines.
