Hunted, hurting men spark QC hostage dramas

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A crime suspect trying to evade arrest held a woman and her young son hostage, while another man held his uncle and cousin at knife-point in separate incidents in Quezon City on Friday.

Supt. Pedro Sanchez of the Quezon City Police District’s Masambong Station said policemen went to Barangay Alicia around 3 p.m. to serve a  warrant of arrest on Andrew Pabustan, who was wanted for homicide.

“When he (Pabustan) saw the police, he tried to escape by climbing over a fence. But there were policemen positioned there, too. He looked for a place to hide and entered the apartment (of the hostages),” Sanchez said.

Wielding a knife, Pabustan threatened to kill a pregnant Gina Sason and her 12-year-old son inside their unit on Balayan Street.

About an hour later, Pabustan surrendered after his wife and Sason’s husband talked to him.

In the other incident, Melvin Medina held his uncle Doroteo Querubin and cousin Marvin Caag hostage around 7:30 a.m. at a house on Maxima Street, Villa Matilde Subdivision in Barangay Baesa.

Supt. Ariel Capocao of QCPD-Talipapa Station said the hostages were construction workers employed at the site. Medina, who arrived on Sunday, was also given work by the caretaker.

Capocao said Medina locked himself up in a room with his relatives after having a drinking session with friends the previous night. The suspect then started cutting himself on the chest.

When the police arrived, Medina demanded to see his mother who was in Laguna province, but she was sick and couldn’t come. Instead, Medina’s two siblings and another uncle came to help pacify him.

But Medina refused to talk to them, Capocao said. The police later saw a chance to break into the room and grabbed the suspect around 4 p.m., ending the nine-hour drama.

“He said he didn’t want to live anymore because he had so many problems,” Capocao said of the hostage-taker.