Wrong suspects in grader’s killing picked up

Homicide operatives yesterday picked up the wrong suspects in the killing of Tejero Elementary School Grade 1 pupil Salbert Samonte.

Cebu City police homicide chief Aristides Macatangay said that the 10 purported witnesses failed to positively identify Samonte’s killer from among the three men presented to them.

The three suspects were apprehended by the team headed by Chief Investigator Mark Macatangay.

Macatangay said his operatives picked up suspicious groups who were then presented to the 10 schoolmates of Samonte who claimed they saw the incident.

Samonte died from intra-cranial hemorrhage several days after his head was struck by a stone allegedly by an adult perpetrator. But another version from the witness who first came out to be interviewed by the media said that the perpetrators were schoolmates of Samonte.

Macatangay admitted that it is hard to arrest the suspect in Samonte’s killing because many people possess the same physical features of the killer as described by the 10 witnesses. The homicide investigators were assisted by the Children and Women’s Desk officials to guide the witnesses.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas started its investigation into the neglect of duty possibily committed by public officials that allowed the unfortunate incident to happen.

The Ombdusman summoned city officials for their alleged inaction on the request of Tejero Elementary School for financial assistance for the construction of a school fence.

School officials said they have asked financial assistance from the city government for the consturction of the school fence, but the city government reportedly had not responded to their request. — Freeman