Man claims he was falsely arrested

The co-defendant of a CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife official who is accused of accepting a bribe claims that he was falsely arrested and was mistreated at the Smiling Cove Marina.

Ji Jing Borja, the co-defendant of Marvin Rodney Pangelinan in the ongoing bribery case in Superior Court, was arrested at the Smiling Cove Marina last Tuesday but he claims he was falsely arrested and was not even told the charges against him.

Saipan Tribune learned that after Borja was booked and detained at the Department of Corrections, he posted bail and is set to appear before a judge on May 1.

Borja, who is the owner and operator of Freedom Tours and a supervisor at the Four Seasons tour agency, said in an interview that he had gone to the Smiling Cove Marina last Tuesday morning to drop off guests who booked for a day trip to Managaha.

After dropping off his guests, he said he was stopped by DFW personnel who claimed he was an unlicensed tour operator and that he is prohibited from being in the marina. Borja denied the accusation and told the DFW personnel that he is licensed and that he has documentation to prove it but the DFW personnel told him to take it up with the DFW office.

Ji Jing Borja, the co-defendant of Marvin Rodney Pangelinan in an ongoing bribery case in Superior Court, claims he was falsely arrested at the Smiling Cove Marina last Tuesday following a verbal altercation with a Division of Fish and Wildlife employee. 
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

After exchanging a few words, Borja went to DFW’s office in Lower Base where he learned that no orders had been given prohibiting him from using the marina.

With this information, Borja said he went back to the marina that same day to drop off more guests and was met with the same personnel whom he claims yelled at him and told him to leave.

After a verbal altercation between Borja and the DFW personnel, police arrived. Borja claims he was then arrested falsely and he was not even told why he was being arrested. He added that police only took the DFW personnel’s side of the story and not his own.

He was later booked and detained at DOC where he posted bail and was released on his own recognizance.

Saipan Tribune spoke with DFW director Manny Pangelinan, who stated he does not want to comment on the situation.

“I don’t want to comment on that issue, especially since it’s one of my staff. I want to allow him his due process and let the court handle that. I do not want to comment further on that,” he stated.

Pangelinan and Borja were recently charged with two counts of bribery. According to the information filed with the Superior Court, Pangelinan allegedly accepted a bribe from Borja.

The charges came after a video circulated on social media that allegedly showed Borja paying Pangelinan $100 to gain access to the Grotto after hours. Pangelinan has since denied the allegation.

In a recent statement from Borja, he claims that the video was just a “prank” and that it was just meant to “scare” Pangelinan into paying him back for borrowing money from him. He explained that he was not paying Pangelinan to access the Grotto and that Pangelinan never asked him for payment to enter the Grotto.