British tourist convicted for wife’s slay in Boracay
The Kalibo Regional Trial Court (RTC) found Carl Andrew Foster, a British tourist, guilty of parricide for the murder of his wife.
The British killed his Taiwanese wife, Chia-Ning-Fu, by hitting her on the head and strangling her during a trip to Boracay Island in 2007.
After the killing, Foster surrendered himself to the police, he pleaded not guilty claiming temporary insanity.
The victim’s family was referred to the Bernas Law Office by the Taiwan government.
In an interview, lawyer Jose Bernas said that Mr. Foster never lost control of his faculties and was simply faking insanity. In her 25-page decision promulgated on October 24, 2012, Judge Jemena Abellar-Arbis of Kalibo RTC Branch 6 rejected Foster’s claim of insanity. She noted that since Foster admitted to killing his wife the burden of proof lay on him to overcome the presumption of sanity.
She said that although Foster presented evidence of alcoholism and bipolar disorder, it was insufficient to prove legal insanity.
The judge noted that Foster’s was not deprived of his mental faculties.
Foster was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay the heirs of the victim P75,000 as civil indemnity, actual damages of $24,312, moral damages of P70, 000 and exemplary damages of P40,000.
