The Filipina wife of an alleged Chinese spy Deng Yuanqing denied accusations against her husband and appealed for a fair and transparent investigation.
In photo: Noemi Deng, the Filipina wife of Chinese national Deng Yuanqing, along with human rights advocate Teresita Ang-See and Atty. Ferdinand Topacio at a press conference on Monday, Jan. 27, in Quezon City. (Photo by Hannah Nicol/MANILA BULLETIN)
Noemi Deng, wife of the alleged Chinese spy, appeared in a press conference held at the Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Kamuning, Quezon City, on Monday, Jan. 27, with human rights advocate Teresita Ang See and Deng's legal counsel Atty. Ferdinand Topacio.
“Sana po bigyan ng hustisya yung asawa ko, dahil hinahanap na po siya ng anak niya. Ilang araw na pong hindi nakakausap, parati lang na nagtatanong yung bata kung nasaan na yung daddy niya (I hope my husband gets justice because our child has been looking for him. It's been several days since we've last heard from him and our child kept asking where his daddy is),” she said.
“Wala po akong maisagot na tama, nag-iisip na lang ako nang kung ano-ano. Nung last na sinabi ko is nasa bundok, hindi makontak yung daddy dahil nasa bundok. Sabi niya, ‘Daddy is nag-aano pa rin ng road? Nagsusurvey pa rin ng road?’ Sabi ko, ‘Yes. No signal there’ (I don’t know what to say, so I just make things up. The last thing I told him was that his dad is in the mountains and can't be contacted because there's no signal there. They asked, 'Is daddy still working on the roads? Still surveying the roads?' I said, 'Yes. There's no signal there),” Noemi Deng added.
According to Ang See, Deng's work involved road mapping for smart vehicle technologies. She explained that the equipment in question consisted of standard road surveying instruments provided by two engineers from the company.
Deng firmly denied the allegations against her husband.
“Isa lang po ang masasabi ko, hindi po spy ang asawa ko. Matagal na po siya naninirahan sa Pilipinas, mahigit 10 years na po siya dito (There's only one thing that I can say, my husband is not a spy. He has been living in the Philippines for more than 10 years now),” she said.
“Sana po matulungan niyo po akong palabasin ang asawa ko (I hope you can help me get my husband released),” Deng added.
During the press conference, Topacio offered to represent Deng's husband on a pro bono basis. Deng immediately accepted the offer.
Deng Yuanqing and two Filipinos were arrested on Jan. 17 in Makati City for allegedly conducting surveillance operations on military camps and other vital installations in the Philippines. The three were placed under the custody of the Department of Justice.
The arrested men face a non-bailable espionage case under Section 1(a) and Section 2(a) of Commonwealth Act No. 616, in relation to Republic Act (RA) 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.