Former mining executive Troy Birthisel, 54, was arrested while attempting to fly to Singapore with his Filipino girlfriend and six other women.
After a trial which took years to reach its conclusion amid prolonged delays, the Queensland father of six was on Friday found guilty by a judge of the crime of illegal recruitment involving economic sabotage in a large scale. He was handed a life sentence.
Birthisel was not physically in court for the verdict and sentencing but appeared by video link, said Lulu, who indicated he would mount an appeal to a higher court in Cebu. The Australian’s lawyer said Birthisel’s girlfriend, Lovely Modina, had also received a life sentence and they had been fined 2 million pesos .According to Carlos Isagani Zarate, a legal expert and former congressman in the south-east Asian nation, prisoners sentenced to life usually served between 30 and 40 years, the maximum.
According to court documents, his legal team argued the prosecution had found no link between Birthisel and the supposed would-be employer of the women, Hospitality Staff Asia, while four of the women recanted statements given to investigators, saying they had been pressured to provide evidence against him to have their passports returned and had been afraid.
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