Estrada not allowed to leave RP

Estrada not allowed to leave RP

PHILIPPINES: A court barred ousted president Joseph Estrada on Thursday from leaving the country to undergo knee surgery in the United States, saying he might not return for his trial on a charge which carries the death penalty.

"The perceived risk of flight is not without basis," the antigraft court said in rejecting Estrada's petition to be allowed to be operated on by his personal U.S. doctor for his arthritic knees.

The former film actor, ousted in a popular revolt in January 2001, is on trial before the court for perjury, illegal use of an alias and economic plunder, the last punishable by life in jail or death. He is being detained in an army hospital.

Estrada said in a statement he was not surprised by the ruling of a court he alleged wanted "to hang me at all costs". --Reuters