Reinvestigation of kidnapped Surigao banker's case urged

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines  – The Hong Kong-based sister of a Filipino-Chinese businessman who had been missing for more than two years now after having been reportedly kidnapped in Surigao City on Jan. 7, 2009 is appealing for a re-investigation of her brother’s abduction.

Through her Filipino representative, private investigator Maximo “Loy” Ocampo, Josefa “Sef” Cuiting Lam issued the appeal to the PNP leadership in Caraga region to re-investigate the case saying she only wanted the truth on what really happened to her brother Johnson Cuiting, 50, after he was reportedly abducted by four armed men in his home.

With the assistance of The STAR who helped set a schedule of the meeting and personally accompanied Mrs. Lam’s representative to the office of Caraga police regional director Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Rafal, Ocampo, held a meeting with Rafal and relayed Mrs. Lam’s appeal to the authorities.

Ocampo told the police general that his client, Mrs. Lam has been spending a lot for the past two years now to locate where her brother is, know her brother’s real condition and whether authorities continued to search.

Ocampo told Rafal that Mrs. Lam is determined to locate her brother and is spending her own money for two years now as he (Ocampo) and his group reached areas as far as Southern Leyte, Davao provinces, Surigao del Sur, and have gone to many areas in Surigao del Norte, Butuan City, Misamis Oriental and Maasin in Leyte just to locate her missing brother.

Ocampo, who had met Rafal twice at the police general’s office before going back to Manila, said that Mrs. Lam also wanted to know the truth behind her brother’s abduction.

At the time the Filipino-Chinese banker was kidnapped by four armed, bonnet-wearing men. Cuiting’s late mother witnessed the kidnapping because she was staying then at Cuiting’s house with two caregivers attending to her.

Official report from the Surigao City police office claimed he was kidnapped from his home in Ceniza Heights Subdivision, Surigao City by four armed men who used his vehicle, a white Toyota Hi-lux double cab pick-up (KDL 969) as getaway car.

Cuiting’s vehicle was later recovered in Barangay Silop, Surigao City a few hours later. Allegedly, Cuiting called his driver named Dodong in his mobile phone to get the vehicle in said barangay afraid that it might get lost.

Ocampo said, then Surigao City police Chief Superintendent Ramir Perlito Paradino Perlas accompanied by Surigao del Norte Board member Nilo Aldonza retrieved the abandoned vehicle.

Perlas in his report claimed the kidnappers carted away from Cuiting’s home some P500,000 worth of assorted jewelries, P400,000 cash money, mobile phones of Cuiting’s wife, Dr. Bliss Dingal-Cuiting and two caregivers of Johnson’s mother and Johnson’s service firearm, a .40 caliber Pistol Armscor.

Allegedly, the kidnappers demanded P10-million ransom from the Cuitings with the use of his mobile phone.

The Cuitings according to Ocampo raised P6-million ransom money with P3-million coming from Cuiting-Lam and the rest provided by other members of the Cuiting siblings.

As negotiations for lower ransom money progresses, contacts with kidnappers suddenly stopped and the Globe subscription of Johnson’s mobile phone was cut off.

Rafal has recently ordered the revival for intensified investigation of the Cuiting kidnapping Case now considered as the longest unsolved kidnapping case in the region involving a businessman at that.