RP court to hear Estrada graft case

RP court to hear Estrada graft case

MANILA (AFP): A special court is to begin hearing evidence on
plunder charges against detained former Philippines president
Joseph Estrada on Oct. 1, court officials said on Friday.

Estrada, deposed in a popular revolt in January, is on trial
on charges of building a personal fortune of US$80 million
through illegal means including taking bribes and kickbacks. The
crime is punishable by death.

Sandiganbayan antigraft court officials said Estrada's lawyers
sought to have the hearings set back for a month to give the
court time to resolve pending pleadings, including a Supreme
Court petition challenging the constitutionality of the anti-
plunder law.

But the three-judge panel rejected the request, they said.
Estrada, 64, was arrested in April and is held at a military
hospital without bail.