Luy’s sister tells court of threats to kill her brother
The sister of Benhur Luy testified Monday that threats were made to kill her brother while he was held captive by Janet Lim-Napoles.
Annabelle Luy-Reario, sister of Luy, testified for the prosecution in the fourth hearing on the petition for bail by Napoles in connection with the serious illegal detention charge filed against the alleged brains behind the P10-billion pork barrel racket and her brother Reynald Lim.
The rescue of Benhur on March 22 after allegedly being detained for three months led to the discovery of the embezzled pork barrel funds of senators and congressmen.
Two meetings
Before Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati Regional Trial Court, Reario recounted two meetings she had with her brother—on Jan. 9 and Feb. 23—and her phone conversations with Lim and Benhur before her brother was rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation on March 22 from three months of captivity.
‘Admit or kill you’
During the two meetings, Reario said Lim made threats against Benhur and forced him to admit his alleged secret dealings in Napoles’ JLN Corp.
“Admit your hidden transactions or I will kill you,” Reario said in Filipino, quoting Lim during her visit to her brother on Jan. 9—the first day she and her parents saw Luy after he went missing on Dec. 19.
Luy’s family traveled all the way from Zamboanga Sibugay to Manila on Jan. 8 after Benhur failed to come home on New Year’s Eve.
Parents
Benhur’s parents and Reario met with Lim, his security aides and Benhur at the South Garden Unit of the Pacific Plaza Towers in Bonifacio Global City.
Reario said at the meeting, Benhur kept quiet. Lim’s face was red with anger, she said.
“You know I am a convicted criminal and I am willing to kill for my sister. According to my sister, some senators and mayors are already hunting you down,” Lim said, according to Reario.
Reario said she had a second meeting with Benhur on Feb. 22 and this prompted the family to go to the NBI and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to seek assistance.
Hand-written note
“(At the South Garden), while we were seated next to each other on a sofa, Benhur brought a towel and placed it on my lap, to hide his hand while putting a letter in one of the pockets on my back,” she said.
In the hand-written note, Benhur asked his family to join him in prayer, pray 2,000 Hail Marys and ask for the Napoles family’s forgiveness.
“Benhur was trying to tell you that he was being detained against his will and he wanted to be free?” defense lawyer Alfredo Villamor asked. Reario answered “Yes.”
The continuation of the bail hearing was scheduled on Oct. 14.
