Cebu kidnap suspects undergo med tests

CEBU CITY — The five men arrested in Davao City in connection with the kidnapping of grade schooler Ryan James Yu here underwent court-ordered medical tests the other day to determine if they were, indeed, tortured by police to own up to the crime.

The medical tests on accused Roberto Galope, Edgar Maximo, Jovencio Camado and brothers Efren and Henry Hernandez were done at the Cebu City Medical Center.

Even before the findings could be released, Salvador Solima, lawyer of the five accused, however, claimed that police tortured his clients.

Solima, who is also the lawyer of fugitive policeman En—gelberto Durano, who was earlier tagged as the alleged mastermind of the kidnapping, said the five were mauled and subjected to electric shocks to force them into admitting their role in the abduction.

After making the torture allegations, the five accused, however, retracted these when a Commission on Human Rights (CHR) team visited them. They also refused to show the signs of torture they reportedly suffered.

Now they have taken up the claim again, with Galope describing his alleged ordeal in an interview with radio station dyLA.

Galope claimed he was hanging around at the Davao City international airport when police picked him up last July 25, two days after Yu was kidnapped while on his way to school in Peace Valley, Lahug.

Galope alleged that he was blindfolded and brought to what seemed like a warehouse. There, he said the police allegedly took turns in mauling him and the other suspects for seven hours.

Galope showed his injuries to Solima the other day in the presence of reporters at the Cebu City jail where he and the four accused are detained.

Galope said he did not know the other suspects until after their arrest.

Regional police director Avelino Razon has ordered George Corpuz, head of the Special Task Group in Davao which made the arrests, to investigate the allegations.

Only one of the suspects, Henry Hernandez, said he was not beaten and tortured.

Police are hunting down eight other suspects in the Yu kidnapping. — Freeman News Service