8 cops allowed to post bail after victim a no-show
Eight members of the Eastern Police District’s (EPD) Special Operations Unit accused of kidnapping and holding for ransom a Chinese trader, in addition to stealing P75 million in cash and valuables from him, have been allowed to post bail of P300,000 each after the victim failed to show up in court.
In an order dated Nov. 3, the Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Branch 197 granted the petitions for bail filed by the police officers after Li Jie failed to testify in court “despite having been afforded numerous opportunities to do so.”
The eight EPD law enforcers—four staff sergeants, two corporals and two patrolmen—were tagged in an unauthorized police operation on Apr. 2 in Las Piñas that led to the arrest of Li. The case turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Aside from arresting Li, the police officers reportedly took around P75 million worth of cash and jewelry from his house.
Trial date set
But the court clarified that the granting of bail was a provisional conclusion and not a final prejudgment. It set the trial on Dec. 10.
In an affidavit, Li accused the law enforcers of kidnapping for ransom and theft. However, he failed to appear in court to testify against them.
“His absence on the witness stand, being the most crucial witness in this kidnapping case, substantially weakens the opposition to the petitions for bail,” the court said.
“It bears emphasis that from the evidence presented so far, only Li Jie can firmly testify on the circumstances surrounding the alleged kidnapping,” it added.
Another Chinese citizen was also supposed to testify for the prosecution but he failed to appear in court. INQ
“Without his testimony, the prosecution’s opposition to the petitions for bail is considerably weakened,” the court said.
At the same time, it discounted the testimony of the prosecution’s main witness, Col. Glenn Lomogan, then the EPD deputy district director.
The court said Lomogan was merely an arresting officer and “does not possess personal knowledge of the actual circumstances about the alleged crime.”
