US v. Radaza | 17 phil. 286



Facts: Appellant, Leoncio Radaza was on of the councilors of the town of Burawen and in charge of the barrio of La Paz. Francisco Tirado paid to the appellant the sum of P5.00 being as he thought, for the privilege of slaughtering a carabao. The appellant represented himself as having authority and being the person in charge of the collection of these fees. He promised to obtain a receipt for Tirado for this amount, however, he not only failed to obtain the official receipt for this amount but converted the same to his own use. Appellant was charged and convicted for the crime of malversation of public funds.

Issue: Is the crime of the appellant malversation of public funds or estafa?

Holding: The real crime committed by the appellant is that of estafa and not malversation of public funds. The appellang did not receive the P5.00 in his official capacity. It was not his duty to collect these fees, and he had no authority to do so. For these reasons he is not guilty of the crime of malversation of public funds, but he is guilty of the crime of estafa, as defined and punished in Par.(5) of the Article 535, in relation to Par.(1) of Article 534 of the Penal Code.

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