Cedric Lee is allegedly behind an attempt to stage an attempted rape and extort money from Vhong Navarro, the well-known ABS-CBN host.
Quick Case Summary
In an interview with Buzz ng Bayan from his hospital bed, Navarro said that Lee was the “powerful and influential man” who was behind the blackmail attempt.
Navarro says that he arrived at the condo of Deniece Cornejo, a model and student, on the evening of January 22 with food he picked up from a restaurant. He said that the pair were planning on having dinner.
But when he got inside a group of men came out and held him at gunpoint. They forced him to admit on video to attempting to rape Cornejo, and also beat him, Navarro said.
Cedric Lee and Cornejo, on the other hand, allege that the attempted rape did happen and that there was no extortion attempt.
A source told the Philippine Inquirer that Lee has been identified as the owner of a cell phone from which extortion-related text messages were sent to Navarro. The messages have been forwarded to police.
Information About Lee
Lee has been in trouble before, allegedly beating up triathlete David Bunevacz when the pair were partners in a cosmetic clinic visit. Lee and another partner made threats over the phone to Bunevacz, after which they left him “badly beaten” following a meeting. Then again, Bunevacz and his wife were later charged for alleged misuse of the company’s funds.
Lee used to be the boyfriend of Vina Morales several years ago.
He lists his occupation on LinkedIn as contractor.
He is the board chairman and company president of Izumo Contractors, which builds infrastructure such as the Davao del Sur Cultural Sports Business Center. The company’s office is in the Robinsons Galleria Corporate Center.
Lee also serves as the managing director of Colossal Mining Corporation, as well as the chairman and president of Phil-Asia Dredging and Reclamation Corporation, which currently has a two-year contract to do dredging on the Cagayan River, according to the Inquirer.
Lee has another company, Waste Management Incorporated, which manages Cebu’s landfill.
Lee graduated De La Salle University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, according to his profile.
