57
The trial court was not required to give credence to Yee's testimony that Wong Sun had not been at his house, for this testimony was impeached by Yee's own admission on the stand that he had given a contrary statement on June 9, under oath, that Wong Sun and Toy had come to his house on the night of June 1 and again on the night of June 3—the nights specified in Wong Sun's confession.[1]
In sum, the 27 grams of heroin surrendered by Yee at Yee's house on June 4 itself attested that narcotics had been transported to the house—narcotics that cannot be legally imported and for the manufacture of which no opium can be legally imported. Wong Sun's confession, shown to be reliable by several aspects of evidence aliunde, stated that the heroin had been brought by him and Toy. Moreover, in transporting the heroin, Wong Sun was necessarily
- ↑ While certain remaining evidence aliunde the confession was introduced only on voir dire it may be noted here for the limited purpose of demonstrating that the district judge, as trier of the fact, was not on notice, from his additional hearing of the voir dire testimony, of anything impugning the trustworthiness of the confession. To the contrary, the voir dire testimony afforded persuasive corroboration of Wong Sun's confession. Agent Nickoloff testified that Yee, on the morning of his arrest on June 4, had named Sea Dog (Wong Sun) and Toy as the persons who had brought "the narcotics which Johnny Yee surrendered" to Yee's home approximately on the first of June (R. 90). Moreover, Toy further attested the degree of his acquaintance with Wong Sun by leading the officers to Wong Sun's home (R. 90). As to the portion of Wong Sun's confession asserting his ability to obtain heroin, the explanation appears in his prior experience—he stipulated, at the trial, that he had already been once convicted of a narcotics offense. (R. 89).
