Kidnap victim turns to other gov’t agencies

Kidnap victim Jackie Tiu has sought the help of other government agencies in investigating the irregular deportation of one of her alleged Chinese abductors by the Bureau of Immigration.

She called on the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday "to act on the issue and ensure credibility of the investigation."

Tiu, who decried the deportation of kidnap suspect Zhang Du last May 7 despite an ongoing trial of his case before a regional trial court in La Union, also lamented the inaction of the concerned agencies which joined the initial investigation of the case with the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER) team.

"I really hope they would continue investigating and have those officials responsible for the escape (of Zhang) pay for the fear and injustice they have put me through," Tiu told The STAR.

The immigration department yesterday disclosed the name of the immigration officer who was relieved from his post after escorting Zhang to the airport, in response to Tiu’s demand for transparency in the investigation.

Bureau of Immigration Legal Office chief Benjamin Kalaw said the agent, identified as Allan Reyes, assisted the Chinese suspect in the immigration office at the airport.

Reyes, however, told immigration officials during the initial investigation that he had just followed the deportation process and did not suspect there was a problem since Zhang had the necessary documents.

He also denied reports that he helped Zhang escape but admitted that he did not examine Zhang’s papers since the suspect was escorted by officers from the bureau’s civil security unit. — Edu Punay