 |
| Specimen of a USD100 Thomas Cook traveler's cheque |
By Vir B. Lumicao
A money exchange staff knew the wad of travelers checks that
a Filipino male tourist presented in February last year was fake because, she
said, the bank in London
that supposedly issued the instruments did not have a US$1,000-denominated
check.
Travelex Worldwide Money sales consultant Lim Ming-yee was
testifying on the first day of trial on Mar 4 in District Court of the
defendant, Noel Rambuyon.
The 39-year-old tourist was charged with “using false
instruments” for allegedly trying to cash US$50,000 worth of travelers checks at
a Travelex Worldwide Money shop in Central on Feb 6 last year.
Rambuyon denied the charge when his plea was again taken at
the opening of the three-day trial presided over by Judge Stanley Chan.
The prosecutor said the defendant was arrested by police
called by other Travelex staff after he approached the counter at 4:25pm and
asked if they changed travelers checks.
When staff Lily Wong said yes, Rambuyon allegedly presented
the bundle of Thomas Cook travelers checks.
Wong showed the bundle to Lim and asked if the checks were
genuine, but the witness accordingly said, “No, that is a counterfeit one.”
The prosecution lawyer asked Lim how she could tell that the
checks were fake, and she said she first noticed the denomination, then saw that
the printing and paper used were of low quality and the numbers and watermark were
faded.
“We don’t have $1,000 travelers check at Thomas Cook.
American Express do have them but not Thomas Cook,” said Lim.
Thomas Cook issues 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500-dollar travelers
checks, but never a US$1,000, the witness said, adding she had undergone
training on handling all kinds of such documents.
The prosecutor said Rambuyon, who arrived from Manila on Feb 5, initially
told police that the checks were owned by his father. Then in a recorded
interview on Feb 7, he said the checks were given to him by his father, who
died in September 2015.
Then the defendant said in another statement that the checks
were not given directly to him but that he found them among his father’s personal
belongings after the latter died.
A police forensic examination found that the traveler’s
checks were fake.
But the defense lawyer told the court on Mar 4 that Thomas
Cook, the London-based banking company that used to issue the instruments, has
not confirmed whether the checks that Rambuyon presented were fake or genuine.
Prosecutors told the
Eastern Court
in a hearing last year that Thomas Cook, which has sold its foreign exchange
operation to Travelex, said it had stopped printing since 2002 the type of
traveler’s checks that Rambuyon allegedly attempted to exchange.
====
BAGO ITO!
Mas madali nang tawagan ang mga advertiser natin dito. Pindutin lang ang kanilang ad at lalabas ang automatic dialer. Isa pang pindot ay matatawagan mo ang advertiser na hindi na kailangang i-dial ang numero nila. I-try mo!
