Victim takes the witness stand

The victim testified Tuesday how she was hit and robbed inside her room on the third floor of Micro Beach Hotel in western Garapan in the early morning of July 7, 2016.

At the ongoing Superior Court jury trial of Jodan Santos Taitingfong, the woman, a Chinese national, however, could not identify Taitingfong in the courtroom. She testified through an interpreter.

Assistant attorney general Teri Tenorio, counsel for the government, asked her at least twice to look around the courtroom and say if she recognizes the person who hit her.

The woman looked around the courtroom and stated she could not identify the person.

Taitingfong was seated next to former lawyer Joey Arriola, who was beside defense counsel Rosemond Santos at the defendant’s table. Arriola has been assisting Santos in Taitingfong’s defense.

Taitingfong has a shaved head. Police said that during the robbery, he was wearing a hat and the video footage showed he had hair.

At the defense’s opening statements on Monday, Santos said Taitingfong does not deny that he was with the woman in her room, but that he did not commit the crimes.

As the woman could not identify anyone in the courtroom as the person who attacked her, Tenorio proceeded with other questions.

The woman testified that in the early morning hours of July 7, 2016, she met a possible local man near a restaurant near Micro Beach Hotel.

She said the man asked her if she is a massage therapist and that she replied she is.

The woman said she brought the man to her room for a massage, but as she was holding her bag and unlocked the door, he struck her on the head.

She said she lost consciousness and when she regained consciousness, she was already bloodied in the face and the man was no longer there.

She said she went to the restroom and was horrified to see the blood in her mouth. She said there was blood everywhere in her room.

The woman said she went downstairs and fainted again. When she woke up, she was already in the hospital.

Later in the hospital, a police officer showed her a purse or a bag and she identified it as the one she was carrying when she met the man. She said her purse contained a copy of her passport, some cards, and around $60 cash.

She said she suffered a head injury, swollen lips, and her tooth fell out. She said until now she has constant headaches.

The masseuse said her “sensation is paralyzed” and that for over a year she could not eat solid food.

“It is terrible and I’m very afraid,” she said, adding that sometimes she could not sleep at night.

The alleged victim said she does not know why the man hit her.

To refresh the woman’s memory about the suspect, video footage of the alleged victim and the suspect entering the Micro Beach Hotel and proceeding to the third floor was played. The woman then described the suspect’s clothing and the hat he was wearing. She also said that the man had hair.

The alleged victim identified her bag and the suspect’s hat, which were among the pieces of evidence presented in court.

After the woman’s testimony, the prosecution called police detective Daniel Maliuyal.

Maliuyal testified that he was then assigned with the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau when the incident happened.

He said he responded and was able to obtain another video footage taken from a building adjacent to the Micro Beach Hotel.

The prosecution then played the video in the courtroom, where the man who was with the woman jumped from the railing on the second floor of Micro Beach to the next building. The man then ran downstairs.

When Saipan Tribune left the courtroom at 4pm, police detective Myron Laniyo was on the witness stand.

Earlier that day, the prosecution called four other witnesses.

Taitingfong in on trial for robbery, and aggravated assault and battery.