- Petitioner
- The People of the Philippine Islands, plaintiff-appellee,
- Respondent
- Perpetua Trinidad, defendant-appellant
- Citation
- G.R. No. 26013
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Second Division
- Ponente
- Ostrand, J.
- Decided
- March 5, 1927
Whether defendant committed theft or estafa when she sold a gold ring entrusted to her for pledging as security for a loan
Summary
The Supreme Court affirmed defendant's theft conviction for selling a gold ring entrusted to her for pledging. The key legal issue was distinguishing theft from estafa based on juridical possession. The Court held that since the ring was delivered for a specific purpose (pledging) and juridical possession never transferred to defendant, her immediate conversion of the property with fraudulent intent constituted theft. The decision established that when a person receives property as an agent for a particular purpose but fraudulently converts it, the crime is theft because the fraud relates back to make the original taking felonious, and the subsequent conversion violates the limited consent given by the owner.