In the Philippines, incumbent police officers have been arrested for kidnapping foreign tourists and ransoms. Over the weekend in Manila, the capital, two police officers on motorcycles pulled up a luxury car with three Chinese and a Malaysian on it. Later, fellow armed officers handcuffed the tourists and put them in a van, and the two Chinese managed to escape after a physical struggle. The arrested tourists were assaulted by police officers and released for 2.5 million Philippine pesos (about $50,000).
Interior Minister Ben-Hur Avalos says police have arrested four police officers who participated in the crime, based on closed-circuit television (CC) videos and statements made by released tourists, including senior superintendent. CCTV footage obtained by police shows a group of kidnappers, including one in police uniform, pulling tourists out of their cars after pulling them over while other drivers watched on the street. Police charged the four officers with kidnapping, robbery and carjacking. We are also tracking at least 10 other suspects who are not police officers but are believed to have been involved in the incident. “We are shocked by the involvement of police officers in this incident,” Avalos said at a press conference on the same day. “This is a grave violation of the core values of public trust and police rights.” In the Philippines, violent crimes involving police officers have not disappeared, with incumbent police officers kidnapping and killing a Korean businessman, Ji Ik-ju, 53, in the northern part of Luzon Island in 2016, and the main offenders have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
JENNIFER
US ASIA JOURNAL
