Japanese exec cries foul in extortion try
By Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:07:00 08/13/2008
MANILA, Philippines – The president of a Japanese car accessories manufacturing firm will file charges against drugstore officials for allegedly not cooperating with the police in an operation that could have led to the arrest of four women whom he claimed tried to extort money from him.
Senior Supt. Eduardo Villena, chief of the Eastern Police District’s Investigation and Detective Management Division, said Ichiro Shimizu has authorized his lawyer, Angelica Anica, to file obstruction of justice charges against Beth Bravia, manager of the Mercury Drug branch on Amang Rodriguez in Pasig City and Lea Aronce, the assistant manager.
Shimizu, the president of Nissin Brake Philippines, a Laguna-based company, said in his complaint to the police that he was befriended by two women last month in the restaurant of a Makati hotel.
From there, the still unidentified women invited him to a house in Pasig City where they left him in the company of a young woman.
The following day, Shimizu said he woke up and found the woman in bed with him. At this point, another woman barged in, claimed she was the girl’s mother and then demanded P350,000 from the Japanese as payment for “destroying my daughter’s future.”
When he said he did not have that much cash with him, Shimizu said the woman ordered him to purchase P350,000 worth of gift certificates from the drugstore using his credit card.
Because it would take some time for the gift certificates to be processed, the Japanese said drugstore employees told him to return in the afternoon.
At this point, Shimizu contacted a friend who called up the police who set up an entrapment operation.
“But to our surprise when we called again to confirm the plan, [Shimizu’s] lawyer was told by the assistant manager that the suspect had called and cancelled the pickup of the merchandise, leading us to believe that they had tipped off the suspects and could be in cahoots with them,” Villena said.
Reached for comment, Bravia denied the allegations against her and Aronce and refused to comment further on the complaint against them.
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