AT LEAST one other Korean was kidnapped by crooked policemen, Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa admitted Sunday night, following revelations that businessman Jee Ick Joo was abducted by cops and strangled inside police headquarters in Camp Crame in October 2016.
“We have uncovered another incident where a South Korean was held by many policemen,” Dela Rosa said, without offering any details, including the identity of the second victim.
A party-list lawmaker, meanwhile, said a businessman close to President Rodrigo Duterte was also a victim of police extortion.
Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque said the victim, who he refused to identify, was a Filipino-Chinese sugar trader who was taken by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Bulacan.
Roque said he personally knows the victim and interceded on his behalf with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to gain his release.
The victim, a businessman, was among Duterte’s closest friends and attended his inauguration.
Reports said the suspects forcibly accosted the victim in August and claimed they had a warrant for his arrest on suspicions that he was involved in illegal drugs.
Roque said the police threatened to take a photo of him with 20 kilos of shabu if his family refused to pay any ransom.
The family of the victim paid a total of P1.6 million, Roque said.
The killing of Jee prompted members of Congress, including Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, to call for Dela Rosa’s resignation, a call the President has rejected.
Dela Rosa said Sunday he would be investigating the newly uncovered kidnapping incident and vowed to punish policemen involved in the kidnapping syndicate.
Alvarez, who had earlier called for Dela Rosa’s resignation, attended the police chief’s 55th birthday party Sunday night, where the two shook hands.
“I understand his side,” Dela Rosa said. “He’s very professional.”
When the President arrived, Dela Rosa said he again offered to resign, but Duterte turned him down.
“When he [Duterte] arrived, I told him that I’m being asked to resign. Should I resign? The President said no,” Dela Rosa said, with Duterte and Alvarez seated right beside him.
