Court clears 4 cops in kidnap case

A Manila judge cleared yesterday four policemen charged with kidnapping-for-ransom after allegedly abducting a daughter of the so-called "Drug Queen" Yu Yuk Lai three years ago.

Acquitted were SPO1 Gerardo Rivera of the Western Police District; PO2 Fernando Coloma PO2 Jonard de Leon, both from the Explosives and Ordnance Division of the Philippine National Police (EOD-PNP) and PO1 Richard Payas from a task force of Department of the Local Government (DILG).

Manila Judge Teresa Soriaso of Regional Trial Court Branch 27, ruled that the prosecution had no sufficient evidence to prove that the accused abducted Diana Yu Uy on Aug. 17, 1999.

"There was no evidence to show that Diana Yu Uy was indeed kidnapped, and that the testimonies of the (arresting) police officers are hearsay and cannot be given credence," Soriaso said in her 20-page decision.

The judge said Diana’s testimony has been stricken off the record after she repeatedly failed to appear in court for her testimony.

Soriaso, however, sentenced the four to eight years imprisonment for robbery with intimidation after taking P180,000 cash and valuables belonging to Diana.

Police initially charged the four with kidnapping-for-ransom, robbery, illegal possession of firearms and car theft, which all stemmed from the complaint of the victim’s mother, who was then under police custody after she was caught selling three kilos of shabu on Nov. 7, 1988.

Soriaso dropped the illegal possession of firearms after the accused managed to produce documents of the firearms seized from them. The car theft charges were also junked after the prosecution failed to show proof of ownership of vehicles involved in the case.

The case stemmed from the complaint of Yu Yuk Lai, who has been serving a life term since Sept. 25, 2001 for selling shabu. She was the controversial detainee of the Narcotics Command (Narcom) found playing baccarat at the Casino Filipino on UN Avenue when she was supposed to be in jail.

Yuk Lai claimed her daughter informed her through her mobile phone that a group of men were demanding P5 million for her release, otherwise she would be implicated in a shabu deal.

The mother, who was at the Heritage Hotel, said she was able to talk with the kidnappers over the phone and managed to lower the amount. With her escorts, Yu Yuk Lai returned to Camp Crame and reported the incident to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).

Yu Yuk Lai said PAOCTF officials told her to contact the kidnappers and arrange the pay-off, which was set at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex, where Payas, Coloma, Rivera and De Leon were arrested.