Woman faces raps for driving stolen car

FROM accuser to accused.

Police turned the tables on a 24-year-old businesswoman who accused a policeman assigned to the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG)  of extorting money from her in exchange for the release of her impounded vehicle.

The HPG filed a string of complaints against Jane Catherine O, who was flagged down last Oct. 10 in barangay Mabolo in Cebu City while driving a Nissan X-trail SUV as the vehicle’s  registration had expired.

O claimed that SPO1 Aldrin Gulingan of the HPG demanded P200,000 cash from her in exchange for the release of her vehicle.

Gulingan denied the accusation.

Aside from O, also charged was Chris Reinz, whose name appeared as the owner of the  vehicle.

The complaints were filed before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office last Monday.

O and Reinz are facing complaints for violating the Anti-fencing law, carnapping, and illegal transfer of vehicle license plate numbers.

Senior Insp. Hoselito Lerion, chief of the Intelligence Division of the HPG-7, said  the vehicle’s chassis and engine numbers were also found to have  been tampered.

Lerion said they traced the vehicle’s registered owner as  Frederick Pepito Matta who had reported to the police that the vehicle was stolen in  Dec. 27, 2006 by an armed man  in Quezon City.

Lerion said O has yet to make good her threat to file charges against Gulingan.

“There was no extortion because O did not give a statement right after our team flagged her down. When our team informed her that her registration had already expired, she told us to talk to her lawyer,” Lerion said.

Lerion also advised the public to be cautious when buying second-hand vehicles./CORRESPONDENT CHRISTINE EMILY L. PANTALEON