2 Pinoy seamen in stowaway slay freed

Two jailed Filipino seamen were freed by a Jamaican court after no evidence was found linking them to the alleged death of a stowaway aboard their ship.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Alexander Callado and Rogelio Espino were expected to arrive in the country yesterday afternoon.

Quoting a report from the Philippine Embassy in Havana, Cuba, the DFA said the court ordered the release of Callado and Espino because nobody had appeared to testify against them.

DFA sources said Callado and Espino had not admitted to the crime, although Espino was earlier reported to have informed the ship captain about the death of the victim, who was a Domnican Republic citizen.

Callado and Espino were arrested and turned over to Jamaican police after some confusion during the initial investigation of the two Filipinos, sources added.

Police were also not able to fish out a body from waters near the route taken by the MV Winterstar, the cargo ship where the alleged crime had taken place.

An official of the DFA’s Office of the Legal Assistant for Migrant Affairs said Callado and Espino have been turned over to the Philippine Consulate in New York prior to their return to the country.

Police investigations earlier showed that Callado, with the help of Espino hit the stowaway on the head with a metal pipe and threw his body into the sea. – Aurea Calica