PNP: Enough evidence vs cop in Sokor trader’s abduction

APPEAL TO PNP Choi Kyung-jin, wife of businessman Jee Ickjoo (right), appeals anew to the Philippine National Police to go after his kidnappers, believed to be policemen involved in “tokhang for ransom.” —LYN RILLON

The Philippine National Police said on Friday there was enough evidence against an officer who allegedly led the abduction of a South Korean businessman, who has been missing since October last year.

The Inquirer first reported that Jee Ick-joo, 53, was kidnapped at his home in Angeles City along with his Filipino maid by a group of men who barged into his home and announced they were conducting an antidrugs raid.

The maid was subsequently freed, but Jee’s whereabouts remains unknown despite a payment of P5-million ransom.

The man who led the group was later identified as SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel,  who has been relieved from his post while the case is being investigated.

Police have also found out that Sta. Isabel was  embroiled in an earlier kidnapping case.

He showed up at Camp Crame on Thursday to deny that he was hiding, after a fuming Director General Ronald Dela Rosa, the PNP chief, called on him to surrender or be shot on sight.

“We have gathered many damning evidence against the suspects, and all the allegations Sta. Isabel is throwing against the PNP are wrong because truth be told, we have the goods on him—before, during, and after the incident, he won’t be able to deny it,” said Senior Supt. Glenn Dumlao,  head of the PNP’s Anti-Kidnapping Group.

“He knows he has no way out. He’s a pathological liar,” Dumlao said.

Dela Rosa earlier ordered police to locate the hostage after he met with South Korean diplomats and Jee’s wife,  even as he held out little hope of finding the victim alive.

“That  person should have been inquested right away, so that we could have prevented him getting away,” Dela Rosa said, referring to Sta. Isabel.

“When we found out that he was involved in a previous kidnapping case involving a Chinese national, my suspicions grew,” he added.

Sta. Isabel has denied being involved in the crime despite what Dumlao said were clear evidence pointing to his culpability—including a video clip of him using the South Korean’s ATM card to withdraw cash and a getaway vehicle that was traced to his wife.

“Now he is saying that the police are framing him,” he said, charging that Sta. Isabel hired two lawyers to delay the case.

He said he hoped Jee was still alive, even as he stressed he could not discuss details of the operation, which are “very intricate.”

“A policeman is involved, so this might endanger the victim. We [hope] he’s still alive,” Dumlao said.

Dumlao also said Sta. Isabel was not alone on the abduction of the businessman, and that they were also looking for other people who helped him carry out the crime.

The case, first reported by the Inquirer, showed how corrupt policemen could use President Duterte’s all-out war on drugs and his vow to protect officers from prosecution as a cover to commit crime.