Sanchez Vs Far East Bank And Trust Company (FEBTC)

Facts:

Kai J. Chin was the director of Chemical bank, its subisidiary Chemical International Finance
Limited(CIFL) was an investor in respondent FEBTC. Chin was made a director and and sr. Vice
president of Respondent. Josephine Sanchez (petitioner) was assigned as the secrcretary of Chin. CIFL
had a checking account in FEBTCs investment division Far East Bank Investment Inc (FEBII). Chin was
an authorized signature to the account.

Respondent’s claims that petitioner made unauthorized withdrawals from the CIFL account through
forged cashier’s checks which she deposited to her personal account and subsequently withdraw and
misappropriated misapplied and converted to the damage of FEBTC (basically Respondent claims that
Petitioner committed Estafa)

Reposndent alleges petitioner employed three modes:

1. In the First Mode, [petitioner] caused the issuance of a cashier’s check payable to bearer using a
confirmation letter with a forged signature from Chin
2. Second Mode, accompanied by a forged memorandum of Chin, petitioner filed
applications forms to purchase cashier’s checks payable to her, with Chin as the
supposed purchaser
3. the Third Mode, Checks payable to chin were used by Petitioner as a designated representative of
Chin to purchase cashier’s check using applications which bore forged signatures of Chin, after
receiving the check Petitioner would then forge Chins signatures to endorse the check and
petitioner would then encash the checks
Pettioner allegedly confessed to Chin about the tampering of the CIFL account. PNP examined and
found all the signatures to be forgeries. FEBTC had to reimburse the CIFL account and ultimately
suffered the total misappropriated amount of P3,787,530.86.

Petitioner Claimed 1.denial and 2.that she deposited the checks to her own account under the
instruction and authority of Chin and afterwards gave the amount to Chin.
Chin denied the authorization but did not rebut the testimony regarding the turnover of the proceeds
of the checks to him

RTC:
FOR ALL THE FOREGOING CONSIDERATIONS, the Court finds and so holds that the
prosecution failed to prove the culpability of the accused in any of these cases with moral certainty,
and consequently acquits her from all the charges, with costs de oficio.

And they found Chin’s testimony to be not credible.

Respondents filed an MR on the civil aspect. It was denied, the RTC said in its Order that the
acquittal of the accused was not exactly on the ground of reasonable doubt, but that she was not the
author of the frauds allegedly perpetrated (sic). Thus, it held that no civil liability against her may
properly be made.

Respondents appealed to the CA

CA