Atty. Raymond Fortun, the newest lawyer of the controversial businessman and alleged mastermind of mauling Vhong Navarro insists that his client Cedric Lee only asked for money from Navarro as a form of settlement and not as a form of extortion.
Raymond Fortun Cedric Lee (Photo: PhilStar)
Vhong Navarro’s affidavit stated that Cedric Lee tried to extort P2 million from him in exchange of dropping a case by Deniece Cornejo. According to Cedric Lee’s statement Vhong Navarro attempted to abuse the model Deniece Cornejo.
The high-profile lawyer Atty. Fortun made a public comment on Facebook on Thursday, February 7, 2013 stating that “Is it lawful to ask for damages out-of-court, like what (Lee) did to Mr. Navarro? Most certainly! Kaya nga po tinatawag na ‘aregluhan’ eh kasi people want to avoid the rigours and expense of litigation,” Atty. Fortun stated.
Atty. Fortun added further that “I firmly believed even before I was hired that there was no extortion that occurred,” he added. The lawyer of Kris Aquino and other prominent figures, Atty. Fortun said that the court may find that Lee’s aggression toward Vhong Navarro last January 22 as “reasonable” as he was defending Cornejo from the attack.
The newest lawyer of Cedric Lee clarified that Cedric Lee’s attack on Vhong Navarro is justified. He was quoted as saying “If the beating up was for the purpose of subduing the felon preparatory to surrendering him to the police, then the acts are justified in consonance with the elements of defense of stranger,” Fortun said.
