CASE TITLE: United States vs.

Hachaw
IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: GR. No. 6909
SOURCE:
CLASSIFICATION: Arbitrary Detention
FACTS: Hachaw is a Chinaman who were convicted of the crime of having opium. The conviction was
solely based upon the evidences of the three witnesses of the prosecution. That while they were on a
certain street in the town of Cavite, they noticed the accused who was passing along, acting very
suspiciously. They called him to stop, but instead of doing so, the Chinaman started running. They
chased and overtook him and was compelled to go with them to the presidencia. Upon arriving, the
accused was compelled to take everything out of his pocket, and they later saw a small amount of
opium.
The accused contends that he had never used opium in any way, and never dealt in any drug related
transactions. That before the arrest, he had no opium in his pocket. That the opium found was placed in
his pocket by the witnesses.
ISSUE: Whether or not, the arrest was lawful.
HELD: The testimony of the witness does not show any clear reason why he (Alejo Hilario) arrested the
Chinaman. Hilario arrested him because, as he said, I wanted to see if he had committed a crime.
Among free men, and under constitutional and statutory guarantees of personal liberty, this provides no
reason or whatever why a person should be arrested.
The judgment was reversed and the defendant was acquitted.