This defendant was charged with a violation of section 97 of Act No. 1189 of the Philippine Commission.   The complaint was as follows:

"On or about August 6, 1908, in the pueblo of Betis, municipality of Guagua, Province of Pampanga, the accused, being a merchant  or trader in leaf tobacco and other raw materials used in  the manufacture of tobacco, and having been  required by the internal revenue agent, John Moran, to render an exact statement of the quantity of leaf tobacco and other materials sold or delivered to any person,  did wilfully and maliciously refuse to render such exact statement, and instead made a  false and incomplete  one."

After hearing the evidence adduced during the  trial of the cause, the Hon. Julio Llorente, judge, found the defendant guilty of the offense charged and sentenced him to pay a fine of P300, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of  insolvency. From that sentence the defendant appealed to this court and made several assignments of error.

Said section 97 provides that:

"It shall be the duty of every farmer or planter producing leaf tobacco  and  of every dealer in leaf tobacco  or any material  used in the manufacture of tobacco or snuff, on demand of any internal-revenue officer, to render a true and complete statement of the quantity and amount of such leaf tobacco or other material sold or delivered to any person named in such demand; and in case of refusal or neglect to render such statement or if there is cause to believe said statement to be incorrect or fraudulent, the provincial treasurer  or other revenue  officer shall  make an  examination of such person's books,  and papers as may be necessary to determine the facts in the case; and any such dealer in leaf tobacco or other material who refuses to render a statement or who renders a  false or incomplete statement, shall for each offense be fined in a sum not exceeding four hundred pesos."

It will be noted that the liability under said  section 97 results from a refusal to render a statement on demand of  any internal-revenue officer, or for the  rendition of a false or incomplete statement by a farmer or planter or by a dealer in leaf tobacco or any material used in the manufacture  of tobacco  or snuff.  An examination  of the  record brought to this court fails to show  that any internal-revenue officer ever made a demand upon the defendant to render a statement such as is required by said section  97;  neither does the record disclose that  the defendant ever rendered a false or incomplete statement. In  the absence, therefore, of proof (a) that a demand was made to render a statement; and (b) a refusal to comply with such demand, or (c) that he had rendered a false or incomplete statement, no liability is incurred by virtue  of said section 97.

Therefore the  sentence of the lower court is hereby  reversed, the complaint is ordered to be dismissed, and the defendant is hereby ordered to  be discharged from the custody of the  law.

Arellano, C.  J., Torres,  Mapa, Moreland, and Trent, JJ.,concur.