Survivor vows justice for kidnap-slay victims

MANILA, Philippines –  An Indian national who survived a kidnap try last month has vowed to stay in the country to pursue justice for his two friends who did not escape his abductors.

In an interview, James Kumar, 32, who leads an Indian temple, said leaving would mean abandoning his quest for justice for Ferdinand Ret and Andy Brian Ngie – his friends who were with him when armed men tried to abduct him in Pasay City. Their bodies were later found in Bataan and Pangasinan provinces.

Kumar added that leaving would put to waste the sacrifice of Senior Inspector Renato Apolinario, who was shot four times while trying to rescue him from his abductors on Dec. 20, 2010.

“Anyone who experienced what happened to me will consider leaving the country. But I cannot turn my back on the cases we have filed. I will continue my fight for justice. I won’t leave,” Kumar told The STAR.

Kumar has been staying in the country since the 1980s and has various businesses in the country.

Last week, the Pasay City police slapped two counts of murder against Chief Inspector Edwin Faycho, head of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) anti-drug unit; Police Officer 2 Edmund Faculdar; PO1 Mark Edward Zapata; and alleged NBI asset Charles Philip Lou, as well as Indian nationals Gurdanshan Singh, Saudagar Singh, Deepak Kumar (no relation to the victim) and Baldev Singh Brar.

They also face attempted kidnapping and frustrated homicide for the foiled abduction and shooting of Kumar; direct assault and frustrated murder for the shooting of Apolinario, who came to Khumar’s aid; and car theft for commandeering Ngie’s Mazda Friendee van (BDM-479), which remains missing.

Meanwhile, Bureau of Immigration acting commissioner Ronald Ledesma ordered the names of the four Indian nationals included in the BI’s watchlist to prevemt them from leaving the country. – With Evelyn Macairan