Infant rescued from suspected 'baby-seller'

MANILA, Philippines - Manila police rescued yesterday a six-month-old infant from an alleged member of a syndicate involved in the abduction and sale of infants.

The baby boy was reunited with his mother, Mary Jane Santiago, after his supposed abductor, Cristina dela Cruz, 42, was caught in the act of selling the baby to an undercover police officer for P1,000.

Police said they, acting on a tip, arranged to buy the child and met Dela Cruz in front of the Sta. Cruz Church.

Santiago, a cell phone vendor at a mall in Ermita, earlier reported to police that she asked a middle-aged woman to hold her son while she relieved herself in the restroom.

When she went out of the restroom, she said the woman and her baby had gone.

Police made use of the footage taken by the mall’s security cameras to identify the suspect. They said Dela Cruz is facing kidnapping charges. – Edu Punay