The high court ruling was signed by Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan, Associate Justice Alexandro C. Castro and Associate Justice John A. Manglona.
Jian Hua Zhang was convicted in Superior Court for assault and battery.
Court documents showed that on the early morning of May 7, 2005, Officer Michael Camacho received a report that a woman was assaulted at an apartment complex.
The caller led Camacho to Li Rong Jiang who was sitting in a nearby vehicle and who appeared to be shaken. She had a bloody lower lip and blood on her blouse.
During the bench trial, Li Rong Jiang testified that she babysat for the son of her employer Jian Hua Zhang.
She said Jian Hua Zhang arrived home between four and five a.m. that day and smelled of alcohol.
She said her employer was upset with her and slammed her against the wall several times before slapping and punching her in the face.
She said Jian Hua Zhang threw her to the floor, kicked and threatened to kill her, then poured water on her head.
Jian Hua Zhang denied assaulting Li Rong Jiang.
She accused Li Rong Jiang of injuring her son several times.
The trial court, however, noted that Li Rong Jiang’s testimony appeared sincere, while Jian Hua Zhang’s didn’t add up and sounded scripted.
She was sentenced to one year imprisonment, all suspended except for six days and two years of supervised probation.
In her appeal, Jian Hua Zhang said there was insufficient evidence to sustain her conviction.
She noted that although there were three witnesses in her apartment, none of them were called to testify or corroborate Li Rong Jiang’s testimony.
Jian Hua Zhang said there were inconsistencies in Li Rong Jiang’s testimony.
The high court, however, said it found Li Rong Jiang’s testimony sufficient to sustain the defendant’s conviction.
The high court said the plausibility of Li Rong Jiang’s testimony was supported by photographs which documented her injuries.
In reviewing the evidence most favorable to the prosecution, the Supreme Court held that there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable trier of fact to find Jian Hua Zhang guilty of assault and battery.
