Cops await LTO word on ‘naked teen’ case

The driver of the silver Toyota Camry who allegedly kidnapped and raped a teenager in Mandaluyong City may not be a foreigner but a Filipino, according to the police.

Mandaluyong police deputy chief for operations Supt. Cresencio Landicho told the Inquirer that the victim, who said she escaped by jumping out of the car, may have mistaken the driver for someone of a different nationality because he was fluent in English.

“We asked her [victim] how she found out the suspect was foreign and she said the driver spoke in English and had been asking where he could convert his dollars into pesos,” Landicho said.

He said that the 17-year-old girl came to Metro Manila only recently from her home province after she dropped out of high school.

The Mandaluyong police began its probe into the incident on Monday after the footage taken by a closed circuit television camera was reported in the news. It showed a naked girl falling out of the front seat of the Camry as it was traveling on Sgt. Bumatay Street toward Maria Clara Street in Barangay Plainview.

Clutching her clothes, the girl stood up, started running and then asked for help from bystanders. The car, on the other hand, stopped a few meters away from where she landed as someone inside the vehicle pulled the open car door shut before it drove away.

According to Landicho, investigators have not yet identified the Camry driver as they have yet to hear from the Land Transportation Office regarding their request for the car’s registration papers.

Landicho said the teenager told them that she was waiting for a ride on Martinez Street around 6 a.m. last Saturday when the Camry stopped in front of her. The driver who spoke in English then asked her for directions to a money changer.

She added that the driver pulled her inside the vehicle and prevented her from going out by engaging the automatic door locks.

“He continued to speak to her as they drove around Mandaluyong City and she said she tried her best to answer in English until the car stopped. It was then that she claimed he took off her clothes then raped her,” Landicho said.

The footage showing the teenager getting out of the car was taken around 6:45 a.m.

Landicho said that they had also yet to get the results of the physical examination conducted on the teenager to determine if she was indeed raped.