1/5/2021
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Mary Jane sought comfort from her family in the Philippines and informed them that
she was currently detained in Indonesia. Mary Jane's family immediately confronted
Cristina who instead of helping them even threatened them to keep the matter to
themselves and not to divulge the same especially to the media. She even told Mary
Jane's family that she is part of an international drug syndicate who would spend
millions to get Mary Jane out of prison.
However, in October 2010, the District Court of Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia,
convicted Mary Jane of drug trafficking and sentenced her to death by firing squad.
After the affirmance of her conviction by the High Court and the Supreme Court of
Indonesia, Mary Jane and eight other felons who were similarly convicted of drugrelated offenses were brought to a prison facility in the island of Nusakambangan, off
Central Java, Indonesia, to await their execution by firing squad, which was originally
scheduled on April 9, 2015 but later rescheduled to April 28, 2015. Eventually, the eight
companions of Mary Jane were executed by firing squad. Presently, Mary Jane is
detained at the Wirogunan Penitentiary in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Cristina and Julius were arrested by the operatives of the
Anti-Human Trafficking Division of the National Bureau of Investigation. Thereafter,
they were charged with qualified trafficking in person in violation of Section 4(a) in
relation to Sections 3 (a) and 6 of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9208, otherwise known as
"Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003" docketed as Criminal Case No. SD (15)-3723.
[4] Cristina and Julius were likewise charged in two separate Informations with the
crime of illegal recruitment as penalized under Section 6, par. (k) and (1) of R.A. No.
8042, otherwise known as "Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Workers Act of
1995," and estafa in violation of Section 2(a), Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code
docketed as Criminal Case Nos. SD (15)-3724,[5] and SD (15)3753,[6] respectively,
filed before the trial court. Upon arraignment, Cristina and Julius entered a plea of "not
guilty" on all charges.
On March 31, 2015, representatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
(PDEA), the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory, and the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) went to Wirugonan Prison to interview Mary Jane. She executed a
document known as "Sinumpaang Salaysay ni Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso. "
In her Sinumpaang Salaysay, Mary Jane maintained her innocence and narrated how
she was recruited by Cristina and Julius. She alleged that while in Malaysia, she and
Cristina stayed at Sun Inn Lagoon since her supposed employer was not in Malaysia.
Cristina has a boyfriend named Prince whom she conversed only by phone. Prince has a
brother named "Ike. " On April 24, 2010, Mary Jane and Cristina went to the hotel
parking lot and met with "Ike " who was on board a white car. They then went inside
the car wherein "Ike" handed the luggage to Cristina. When they returned to the hotel
room, Cristina gave Mary Jane the luggage. Mary Jane noticed that it was unusually
heavy but, upon checking, found nothing inside. She then asked Cristina why the
luggage was heavy but the latter simply replied that because it was new. The luggage
was the same bag she used on her trip to Indonesia. It was only after she was
apprehended at the airport when Mary Jane realized that it contained prohibited drugs.
On the basis of her affidavit, the Philippine Government requested the Indonesian
Government to suspend the scheduled execution of Mary Jane. It informed the
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/65855
2/22