MANILA – Two policemen were arrested for allegedly abducting a Chinese national last Monday in Monumento, Caloocan City.
Police Officer 1 Danilo Sytamco Jr. and Police Officer 2 Zerzes Martin, both assigned to Bulacan Police, are now in custody of Caloocan Police. They are accused of abducting 43-year-old Lin Han Zhang at the LRT 1 Monumento Station last Monday.
Lin, through an interpreter, told police that he was about to board the LRT when he was forcibly taken by Sytamco and Martin. He said the two forced him into a car driven by another man.
Lin said he was brought to Bulacan by the suspects, where the alleged negotiation for his release took place.
The policemen allegedly demanded an initial amount of P10 million from Lin’s family. This was later lowered to P3.5 million. The suspects allegedly threatened to ”plant shabu” on Lin if his family would not give in to the ransom demand.
Lin, however, managed to escape his abductors before dawn on Tuesday after the latter fell asleep.
The Chinese national, who is reportedly here in the Philippines to scout for business opportunities, boarded a bus going to Balintawak. He sustained cuts after passing through a grassy lot while escaping.
Lin then took a cab and asked to be brought to Manila. Upon arriving in Quiapo, he said he panicked when he saw a police checkpoint. He ran and reached Ermita district where a security guard helped him and turned him over to the Manila Police.
Police have yet to identify the third suspect who drove the Honda Civic used in bringing Lin to Bulacan.
Police are also investigating a Chinese woman who was with Lin at the time of his abduction, and another female who allegedly acted as interpreter for the policemen during the negotiations for Lin’s release.
It was not yet clear whether Lin’s companion and the kidnappers’ interpreter are one and the same.
Caloocan City police said Sytamco and Martin will undergo inquest proceedings today for criminal charges. The two will also be slapped with administrative sanctions of grave misconduct, which could result in their dismissal from service.
It turned out that Sytamco was dimissed from service in June 2012 for violating the Anti-Fencing Law. He, however, was reinstated in February 2013 after he appealed his case. – reports from Dexter Ganibe, dzMM; and Francis Faulve, ABS-CBN News