Police seek hold order vs Korean carnap suspects

CEBU, Philippines - To make sure that the three Koreans currently on bail for a carnapping case won’t leave the country, police yesterday secured a hold departure order from the court.

Senior Supt. Petronelli Baldebrin, director of the Mandaue City Police Office, said the order will prevent Korean nationals Kim Kyung Hwan, Won Seok Lee, and Jang Hyun Lee from leaving the country and possibly escape to Korea.

“We’re anticipating na last Friday, after the case was filed, basin mueskapo sila. So we secured the hold departure order para di sila kagawas sa nasud and to make sure na naa sila sa hearing,” Baldebrin told reporters yesterday.

The foreigners, who are facing carnapping cases, were released after posting bail for P180,000 each.

After requesting from the fiscal who was holding the case, Baldebrin said they were assured that the case shall be raffled on Monday so that they can file for the issuance of the hold departure order.

“Fortunately, we were informed this morning na na-release na gyud ang departure order,” said Baldebrin.

The court, he said, will also furnish copy of the said order to the local and national immigration office.

Kim, Won, and Jang were arrested by police in Barangay Casuntingan, Mandaue City last week after they were identified as the ones who earlier boarded a stolen silver grey Starex van.

Kim, Baldebrin said, operates a warehouse in Mandaue City where two stolen Starex vans were recovered while Won and Jang were his business partners.

According to the MCPO director, they are still looking for three other Koreans involved in the carnapping syndicate.

“Dili lang silang tulo (Kim, Won, and Jang). May possibility na naa pa’y wala pa nato ma-identify,” the police official said.

The Mandaue Police, in coordination with their superiors in the Police Regional Office 7, has accounted 13 stolen Starex vans the syndicate reportedly stole since January.

Police urged the victims to file a separate case for carnapping against the suspects, including the three others the PRO 7 earlier arrested. —/JPM (FREEMAN)