Suspects in kidnap try cleared

Parañaque police have released and cleared a Cavite traffic officer and his driver, earlier tagged as suspects in the kidnapping attempt on a couple.

The failed kidnap try last Tuesday morning was "election-related" based on what the driver, who turned out to be a victim, overheard from the real suspects.

Inspector Glenn Tigson, Parañaque Criminal Investigation Division chief, said Rodelyn Malaso, 39, said he was tied and beaten up by six men who commandeered his blue Kia Besta van (WRW-642) last Tuesday.

The other day, police tagged Malaso and his employer SPO1 Antonio Amores, assigned at the Dasmariñas Traffic Station, as suspects in the failed kidnapping of Julio and Corazon Jaucian, both 56, residents of Mandaluyong City and officers of a forwarding company located near the airport.

During their initial investigation, police discovered that van, allegedly being used as a colorum PUV, belonged to Amores and was being driven by Malaso.

In his statement, Malaso said at around 2 p.m. last Tuesday, he took the van to a gasoline station when three men approached him, saying they wanted to hire the van and his services to fetch children from a farm in Lipa and bring them to Tanauan, Batangas. Along the way, they picked up three more men.

On the way, Malaso became uneasy and tried to back out of their earlier agreement to take them to Tanauan. At this juncture, two of the suspects pointed a gun at him saying: "Kailangan lang naming ang sasakyan mo. Hindi ka naming papatayin basta makisama ka lang. Napautusan lang kami, kasi malapit na ang eleksiyon."

He tried to wrestle for possession of the gun, but the other suspects pounced on him and pointed a gun and fan knife to his head and his body.

They tied his arms behind his back, blindfolded him, covered his mouth and tied his feet. He was forced to lie face down on the floor with two men stepping on his back.

Two to three hours later, he heard one of the suspects talk to someone on the cellular phone saying they were nearing their destination. The suspects had a distinct Ilonggo accent.

At around 11:30 p.m., the suspects dumped him at the side of a road before driving northward.

Meanwhile, the car of a Filipino-Chinese trader, who was abducted by six armed men last Tuesday in Malabon City, was found in Cavite on Wednesday morning.

Superintendent Pete Ramos, Malabon City police chief, said the white Nissan Frontier (YWU-888) of kidnap victim William Uy, 45, was found on a secluded lot at the Samaka Site, Barangay Maderan, GMA, Cavite at around 7 a.m. – Evelyn Macairan, Pete Laude