Manila imam slain; gunman ‘avenging maltreated aunt’

An imam or Muslim community leader in Baseco, Tondo, in Manila was shot dead Friday by a man who was later cornered and mauled by local residents.

Now in police custody, the gunman said he did it to avenge a maltreated relative, a claim yet to convince investigators who believe he was a hired killer.

Chief Insp. Robert Marinda, head of the Manila Police District’s Baseco precinct, said Nasra Onsok was walking home from the local mosque when Mark Cantutay of Navotas City shot him in the nape around 12:30 p.m. Friday.

“The suspect said it was because of an old grudge but we want to dig deeper because he’s from Navotas. We want to know who sent him there,” Marinda said.

Onsok was the president of a Muslim association in the area, the officer noted.

After shooting his target with a “paltik” or improvised handgun, Cantutay was chased and beaten up by bystanders who saw the attack.

Speaking to the Inquirer later, the 32-year-old Cantutay maintained that nobody hired him to kill Onsoy and that he had actually been stalking the imam for weeks.

He claimed that he did it in retaliation for Onsok’s cruelty to his aunt. “He would slap her or tell her mean things. Last month, he poured hot water on my aunt,” he said, but spoke no more when asked to elaborate.

Cantutay also described Onsok as his aunt’s “neighbor” in Navotas, but the police were not yet buying this since the victim was known as a Baseco resident.

Cantutay was set to be charged with murder.