pinoy water powered car " inventor " sentenced to prison for fraud
kenpachi
Inventor, 82, gets 20 years for ‘estafa’
By Allison Lopez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:11:00 12/20/2008
Filed Under: Crime, Automotive Equipment
MANILA, Philippines—Daniel Dingel, 82-year-old inventor of a “water-
powered car,” has been convicted of “estafa” [swindling] and sentenced
to a maximum of 20 years imprisonment by the Parañaque City Regional
Trial Court.
The court also ordered him to pay $380,000 in actual damages.
Dingel, who has never revealed the secret to his invention, which he
began in 1969, questioned the verdict but said he did not mind going
to jail at his age. As of late Friday, he remained at large.
“‘Hindi ko naman kailangan ng pera’ [I don’t need the money],” he
said. “I had bigger offers but I never took them. I never asked the
government for a single centavo ... I just want to help.”
Dingel was found guilty of taking $410,000 from Dr. John Ding Young of
Formosa Plastics Group, a Taiwanese company, which gave it to him as
research and development funds.
The decision, written by Judge Rolando How of the court’s Branch 257
and released on Dec. 9, said Dingel defrauded Young when the inventor
failed to fulfill his obligation of developing his “hydrogen reactor”
and creating experimental cars in 2000.
Veteran lawyer Frank Chavez, who was approached by Dingel on Friday,
said he would immediately appeal the court decision before it became
final on Christmas Eve.
“I am taking up his case and will see to it that his conviction is
reversed,” Chavez said. “Mankind will benefit from his invention ...
How will we know his secret if we put him behind bars?”
Chavez, a former solicitor general, said he was impressed when he rode
Dingel’s “water-powered” Toyota Corolla sedan.
Preliminary understanding
In his testimony to the court, Young said his group eagerly approached
Dingel in November 2000 after hearing that he had discovered a way to
extract hydrogen from ordinary water to power his 1996 Toyota Corolla.
The unique device — a “hydrogen reactor” resembling a 12-volt battery
— impressed the Taiwanese when Dingel demonstrated how it powered and
fueled the car’s engine. They were also told that fuel from water had
clean emissions as it did not produce carbon the way gasoline did.
Convinced that the invention was genuine, Young and his group drew up
a broad outline and signed a “preliminary understanding” with Dingel
for several projects.
On Nov. 30, 2000, the inventor flew to the Formosa Plastics Group
headquarters in Taipei and received $30,000 in goodwill money and
$20,000 for research and development after signing a joint venture
agreement.
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Young said Dingel asked for $300,000 to buy three cars to be used as
prototypes for the invention when he returned to the Philippines.
He said that after receiving the money by wire transfer, Dingel
avoided replying to his emails on the progress of the project and
instead sent copies of letters from other foreign investors offering
Dingel larger sums of money.
Young said that in September 2001 Dingel declined to sign the amended
agreement when he was asked to go to Taipei to discuss mutual concerns
on the project.
Young said he kept his end of the bargain by sending another $60,000
in additional funds for R&D as stated in the joint venture agreement.
He said it was then that Dingel began ignoring his communications. He
said he sent demand letters for the return of $410,000 were but Dingel
did not give the amount back.
Defense
In his defense, Dingel said he backed out of talks with the Taiwanese
after he was pressured to divulge details of his project, which he
said he refused to do to protect his invention.
Dingel said that after touring the plant in Taipei he was invited to
become the company’s consultant and was asked to tour Formosa Plastics
Group plants in Texas. He said he declined for fear for his life.
“‘Tumanggi ako kasi alam ko may pinatay na imbentor ng water-fueled
car’ [I declined because I know another inventor of a water-fueled car
had been murdered],” he said, referring to Stan Meyer, who allegedly
received threats from oil companies and was allegedly poisoned in 1998
because of his pioneering invention.
Dingel admitted signing the joint agreement but said he did not know
what he was signing at the time. He said an envelope containing
$30,000 was given to him in appreciation of his consultancy work and
$300,000 was remitted to him only as an incentive for submitting his
drawings and designs.
The court found Dingel guilty of misappropriating the funds he
received from Formosa Plastics Group.
Judge How said Dingel admitting that he received the funds and
documentary evidence from Yung, such as the joint venture agreement,
showed that the funds were given for “specific purposes.”
“Mr. Dingel did not use the money for the purpose it was intended,”
the court decision said. “...He excused himself from producing or
developing the prototypes allegedly after entertaining the notion that
his invention would be stolen. Since he thought of it, he should have
returned the money to Dr. Young and told the latter to forget his
invention.”
The decision said that instead of returning the money, Dingel withdrew
$375,603.89 from his bank account and left only $500.
“He admitted withdrawing the money after learning that a suit had been
filed against him,” it said. “His act of immediately withdrawing the
money indicated bad faith on his part.”
Judge How said Dingel failed to support with evidence his claim that
he had earned the money and therefore had no obligation to return it.
He said Dingel’s reasoning that he did not read the joint venture
agreement before signing it was “too flimsy to be given an ounce of
consideration.”
“He did not purchase the three cars, [he] did not work on his research
and [he] did not develop the invention ... Mr. Dingel’s
misappropriation of the money has no doubt resulted to damage and
prejudice of Dr. Young and the FPG in the sum of $380,000,” the
decision said.
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Dingel said he was
still willing to sell his biggest secret — on condition that the buyer
would hire 200 Filipinos and their families.
He said the royalties to be paid to him would go to a foundation he
would set up for the poor.
The Department of Science and Technology has dismissed Dingel’s
invention as a hoax. Edited by INQUIRER.net