THE Quezon City Regional Trial Court sentenced to nine years imprisonment a man for running away from his P41,800 bill which he incurred in a videoke bar six years ago.

In an eight-page decision, QCRTC Branch 219 Judge Bayani Vargas found the accused, Alex Rellosa, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of estafa.

Vargas, however, handed down the decision despite the absence of the accused as court records showed that Rellosa jumped bail and was no longer attending court hearings.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the P12,000 bail that the accused posted and had issued an arrest warrant against him.

The accused was charged for allegedly running away from his bill at the Classmate KTV along Quezon Ave. on March 18, 2005 with the tab reaching P41,8000 in food and drinks.

Aside from Rellosa, also charged were Salvador Lacuesta, Jeffrey Bautista and Jeffrey Sison but the court provisionally dismissed their case due to lack of any complaining witnesses.

The court also ordered the accused to pay his long overdue bill – which remains unpaid as Rellosa has not yet been caught.

In his decision, Vargas said Rellosa’s flight from the proceedings was an indicator of his guilt.

“Unless explained, the act of fleeing shows a consciousness of guilt and operate as an admission implied from the party’s own conduct,” the court said.

The bar’s floor manager Ledermina Bulay-og told the court that when the accused arrived in their bar, he introduced himself as a colonel.

After renting the VIP room, the accused and his companions proceeded to choose girls for their entertainment and ordered food and drinks amounting to P41,800.

The witness further testified that the accused told her to advise him if the bill had already reached P40,000.

At around 4:30 a.m. the following day, the floor manager checked the VIP  room and was shocked to see Rellosa and his friends gone except for one person, Lacuesta, who was sleeping inside the room.

“The accused, by his actuation of jumping bail, did not give this court the opportunity to hear his defense,” the court said, adding that the lawyer from the Public Attorneys’ Office assigned to represent Rellosa was “hard pressed” as the counsel didn’t know of Rellosa’s whereabouts.