An Australian man named Damian John Berg, who was arrested and eventually acquitted of drug-related charges is now sharing his personal horror story.
“[On the night of June 20], police alleged that Berg — who worked as the commercial manager for engineering company First Balfour in the Philippines — was caught in a street buy-bust operation selling 50 Ecstasy tablets to Canadian man Jeremy Eaton on the in Makati City,” reports Lauren Farrow of News Corp Australia Network.
The report noted: “What CCTV footage showed was that Berg was not arrested in a sting on the street but at the nearby Red Planet Hotel, where police stormed into his room, guns drawn, while he was working.”
Berg still can’t explain why the opreatives of the Philippine National Police—Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG) suddenly burst into his hotel room. “I was too shocked to even think. I basically thought it was some kind of robbery,” he said.
“They put a gun to my head and were asking what is the combination to the safe,” he added.
Berg explained that he saw Eaton — whom he described as “a friend of a friend” and whom he had run into earlier that evening and had a brief conversation with — in the custody of the police.
“Although he has repeatedly denied knowing about the drugs or money allegedly found, Berg recalled he was taken to a car in the basement where he said he was ‘leant on’ to give a bribe,” reports ABS-CBN News Online.
The report went on to relate: “Berg said that when he refused to shell out PHP2 million in exchange for his and Eaton’s freedom, they were hauled in front of cameras, tagged as drug dealers, and put behind bars.”
Berg was detained at the Makati City Jail. During this time, his pregnant Filipina partner Marvie Torreon hired a lawyer and made an effort to get the CCTV footage from Red Planet Hotel.
Berg spoke of the deplorable conditions inside the jail. “It’s loud. Nights are the worst. Before I got the CCTV you know, that could have been the rest of my life,” he said.
He added, “Which is worse, spending your whole life in an environment like that or just being shot?”
In an eight-page decision, the Makati City Regional Trial Court ruled that the CCTV footage belied the prosecution’s claim and effectively “cast doubt on the credibility of the prosecution witnesses.”
Thus, Berg was acquitted on September 15.
Prior to his wrongful arrest, Berg had planned to settle in the Philippines for good with Torreon. But they quickly made a decision to just leave the country. The couple have moved to Australia and are expecting their son be born next month.
As for Eaton, he was found guilty and is serving a life sentence.
READ: Canadian man gets life imprisonment for selling 160 Ecstasy tablets
Nevertheless, in an interview with Australian news outfit SBS, Berg asked, “How are you meant to believe all these people who are being killed in buy-busts are guilty of drug dealing when they completely fabricated this whole thing against me?”
The answer to that question may not be available anytime soon.
In an ABS-CBN News feature, Supt. Enrico Rigor, chief of PNP-AIDG’s legal and investigation department, was asked to comment on the matter. His statement starts at the 1:00 mark in the video clip below.
This was what Rigor said: “Baka dahil 50 tablets lang ang dala-dala ni David Berg ‘yung time na ‘yun, baka vi-nerify pa ang operatives natin kung may cache pa ng drugs dun sa kwarto ni David Berg.”
(“Maybe it’s because David Verg was carrying only 50 tablets at that time. So, maybe our operatives had to verify if there was still a cache of drugs inside the room of David Berg at that time.”)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Rigor makes a mistake with Berg’s first name. Also, perhaps, he meant to refer to “Jeremy Eaton” when he recalls the person carrying only 50 tablets.
Bottom line: This is another confusing case, as the PNP-AIDG maintains that they did nothing wrong when they arrested Berg.
